Dear Jamie Oliver,

Sir, you are annoying me. With your whole let's get American kids to eat healthy...by starting a television show thing.  Is encouraging people to sit on their asses in front of the television the best way to get through to them? To teach them? Are they really going to buy that from you? Are they watching for the freak show aspect or because they are too damn lazy not to? Are you even getting through to the people you are trying to get to?

I don't watch TV. Because I choose to live my life, rather than watch others live theirs. I choose to BE with my kids and model healthy eating for them, with them. Not watch it with them. Of course to be able to comment on your show, it's motives vs your motives I should really watch the show. But I won't because we disconnected cable and said no thanks to the lure of too many channels, sleazy people and fat-lazy-American-sit-on-their-ass-itis. TV is just not worth giving up on my own life with my family.

But I can judge you from afar and because I can, I will. You see I tweet on twitter. I saw tweets that your show is sponsored by Ragu? Really? Canned pasta sauce with "real vegetables" in it? A big WTF to you Jamie! I mean how about real food...milk? Spinach? Brown rice. Sure sure I understand you need to make money off this venture, what else it it for right? I mean if you did it for free on PBS I would feel a whole lot better about it and if I had TV I might have thought of recording. But no you need to be sponsored on 'real' TV by crappy processed foods, which are at the VERY HEART OF THE OBESITY PROBLEM IN AMERICA. A serving of their basic sauce has 20% of the sodium a full grown person needs, let alone a kid. And the super sweetness? You guessed it! High Fructose Corn Syrup!! Sweet and salty in a pasta sauce sponsoring your 'food revolution'. That doesn't sound so revolutionary to me.

And can I add America, you are embarrassing me. With your whole I can't do anything about this, that or the other until it's made into a TV show and then wham! Wow I really DO care about it. I mean who needs the added drama? We are the fattest laziest people on earth, can we be more lame? How embarrassing to have a celebrity chef from England come over and confront us about our crappy eating habits AND RECORD IT FOR POSTERITY. Or money, right? Ouch, that stings. And then to have them turn it into a TV show? To really rub it in our faces? Or to get us to pay attention. As if the fact that half of us can't bend over to tie our own shoes, our food stores all have fat carts so we can ALL get to the food (yes I know a legitimate number of people do actually need these!) and that there are special catalogs with toilet seats for the hefty set isn't enough to get our attention. We need to watch fat people get lectured by a foreign celebrity chef while sitting prone, mouth possibly hanging open?

I guess this is why I opted out of TV, I don't want to see it. I don't need to see it, it's right in front of me, I see people making bad choices all the time. Why make somebody rich off other peoples misery? Sure Jamie may be doing some good things, but making a shock jock reality style TV show out of this problem seems a sad solution to the food problems of America. Why isn't he going after big AG? The corn board, who promotes that High Fructose Corn Syrup is the same as sugar. Well indeed it is sweet but it doesn't produce the same results in your brain that say "hey, quit eating you are full", you never feel full and keep eating. Why doesn't he go after the fast food industry that for years have made "happy" meals that are dangerous for our kids by hooking them on the deadly trifecta of sugar, salt and fat? A pattern that they will be addicted to for life. Why not rage against processed foods? They are so over processed they can only loosely be called 'food'. Why TV? And here's a question for you, why not talk to moms who's children eat and enjoy vegetables? Whose kids self regulate their eating, find out their secrets. How they do it? Or don't do it. You want results? Go to the pros, who do it on a daily basis, happily for their families.

You want to help Americans get healthier? Figure out a way to get them off their asses, unplug their TVS, turn off their video games, take away their LayZ boys, sweat pants, Velcro shoes and remotes. MAKE them learn to eat fresh vegetables, drink enough water, chew slowly, talk during meals, make healthy choices, play and interact with their families, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat, repeat.......keep repeating and never stop. Start when they are young, old or in the middle it is never too late.
 

Sincerely, Laura (a mom who knows the secrets)

Please if you are visiting from another blog consider reading this post for a few more thoughts on the subject of food in America

And the winner is...

See, these are the posts I find hard to write, because I know you aren't here to read my pithy, uber intelligant chit chat.

My flip flap.

My gossip.

My tell all.

My tittle tattle.

My babble.

My blabber.

**SIGH**

It's hard to read too isn't it? Well should I just get right down to it? OK...OK...I'm getting to it!

The winner of the Le Creuset  2 1/2 quart French Oven is.........ABBIE!!
 
Abbie said..

Following you sweetie! :) (I have had your link in my favorite places list for months...) xoxo~

Abbie is the creator of Down Abbie's Road and The Vintage Moth Two exquisite sites that never fail to inspire me to be a little more creative with my life. Abbie, drop me an email with your mailing address in it and I'll have CSN mail your brand spanky new Le Creuset French Oven right to you, in FLAME ORANGE of course.

Everybody else be nice and leave a congratulations for Abbie in the comments. Thanks to everyone who entered, left comments and had fun with this fabulous contest.

Peace and Love,

Just Another Meatless Monday #5 Protein Edition

A couple weeks back a reader pointed out that I should be getting more protein in my meatless Monday meals. That got me thinking; What is enough protein? What are vegetarian sources of protein? Am I deficient? Are you?

According to the website The Vegetarian Society most plant foods contains some protein which your body breaks down into amino acids and uses to produce protein in the body. Remember from elementary school? Amino Acids are the building blocks of the body, it's true! Your body actually makes some amino acids but there are 8 it cannot make for itself they are: leucine, isoleucine, valine, threonine, methionine, phenylalanine, tryptophan, and lysine(The Vegetarian Society). So you need to eat protein every day to get those amino acids.

Why? You need protein for just about every bodily function. I was surprised at all the things protein does in your body. Here's a few: bodily repair, nerve impulses, hormones and immunity. So if you want to keep your body machine working how much do you need each day? For women ages 15 to 49 you need 45 grams a day. Men ages 15-49 will need 55 grams a day. Children need more of course because they are growing and you can find all this great information on The Vegetarian Society website

So you NEED protein, but when you eat vegetarian for a day or for several days or everyday, what should you eat? Great sources of vegetarian protein include: yogurt, dry beans, seeds, whole grains (quinoa!), nuts, milk, cheese, soy products, tofu and eggs. Sometimes these foods have less of one or more of an amino acid and this is called a lower quality protein. Protein complementing is a great way to ensure your body receives high quality proteins, this is achieved by combining different lower quality proteins such as beans and wheat or rice and beans. They complement each other and make a more complete protein.


The most complete vegetarian protein is edamame, the whole bean of the soy plant. And they are a favorite around here. I keep them in the freezer for quick and easy eating. I have tried unsuccessfully to grow them but have given up, they don't like 20 hours of sunlight, sadly. So these, we buy. They are so easy to make I can't even call it a recipe. It's instructions today folks:

•  you will need frozen edamame, a big sauce pan, water and salt
•  fill a large sauce pan with water
•  add a pinch of salt
•  bring to a boil over high heat
•  reduce heat and add the edamame, I like to use the edamame in their shells, it slows my little boys down and they have to work at getting to the good stuff!
•  cook for 4-6 minutes
•  drain and rinse with cold water
•  chill until ready to eat
•  sprinkle on more salt and serve
•  to eat grab a pod hold it on one end put the other end in your mouth and squeeze the beans into your mouth
•  repeat repeat repeat repeat

So on the day in question I had 2 cups of milk, stirfry with edamame and almonds. I also ate a cup of yogurt and other assorted foods. I came up with a total 42 grams of protein for the day. I feel like that is close enough to the needed amount to qualify as good. How about you? How does your diet stack up? I'd love to hear about it.
Time to link up your favorite meatless meal. Any new or old post counts as long as it's yours. This is the last week to earn 1 extra entry in the Le Creuset giveaway by linking up a meatless meal. So? What are you waiting for? Inspire me and you might just win!




This is also the LAST DAY to enter the Le Creuset giveaway period! So click here to check out the French Oven and leave a comment on that post to be entered. Good luck!

Peace and Love,

.:Thrifty Storage:.

I refuse to believe I must live my life ruled by advertising. I refuse to believe the only things worth having are branded, co-branded, designer designed, but still made in China crap. I refuse to believe these American ideals of cool have to be mine, we have opted out, said no thanks and gone on our merry way.

I don't mind, I have my own cool, our family has it's own sense of cool and it is utterly our own.

Part of opting out is living beyond what Wal*Schmart sells. And box stores. Mostly, because we sometimes need to go there and we don't have a lot of options in Alaska.

Rubbermaid totes have definite uses but they're ugly. For baby chicks? YES!! For living room sewing baskets? NO!! Finding alternative storage makes my heart thrill, I love to find little treasures that I use outside their intended uses.

My scrap fabric was threatening to over take it's current living quarters and my sewing box was full of notions and not quite able to be useful. Along came these thrilling little gems...

I love the plaid box I have had it for a month or two and keep some current small projects in there with their parts and pieces. Easy and close at hand means I actually pick up those little projects and work on them.

The small filing box lived here for a bit before I figured out what it's use was...

Fabric scraps, too big for the kids scrap bag to small to fit in the box of fabric and not get lost. I simply folded them to fit and all my smaller scraps are right there to be used and pondered over. The fabric was actually thrifted too. I find the best pieces from other peoples projects. I guess maybe this means I need limited choices.

I love the look of these old dependable clunkers. I love their second or third lives here in my home, where because they can't speak, I will speak for them and they too say "opt out!!"

Don't forget tomorrow is "Just Another Meatless Monday" here and also the last day to enter my Le Creuset giveaway! Link is at the top of the page if you need help finding it. Off to file our taxes, YEAH!!

Peace and Love,

.: Spring :.

It's that time of year again, when I roll in the plant rack and drag out the plant table! Last year I was in a walking cast after ankle surgery so this year is much more pleasant for me....and I suppose everyone else, too. Everything was just harder with that boot on, every time I walked anywhere near the plant area I kicked something over, I'm really surprised I didn't kick the leg right off.

I pulled out seeds and a long afternoon was spent spreading soil liberally all over the dining room. We planted and while we planted we schemed about new garden beds, how many peas we would have, the tallest sunflowers, boasting of the finest kind. It took two days to clean up and now it's time to start more seeds and more mess, I'll tell myself I don't mind.

Somewhere around January I start to miss the endless blue sky days (20 hours!) the flowers, the fresh vegetables picked and eaten within minutes. I miss walks outsides without coats, watching chickens and seeing things grow. The back breaking hours spent bent over weeding, only to go back and see more weeds, watering watering, and chasing the chickens out of the gardens, yes I even miss the annoyances. I like winter because I like to hibernate for a while but when it's done it needs to be done.

I love summer but there comes a time for me when I'm done and I need a change. Along about fall, I am so ready to rip plants out and be done that it is enjoyable to clean out the gardens. The living composting egg makers eat most of the garden waste and give us in return, eggs and compost. Last fall's compost has been languishing all winter, mellowing out for a move to the garden. Rich with life it will return to the garden and start the cycle over. And on and on.

I just deep cleaned the hen house and I have say the ladies are pretty excited about life in general. They have kicked up all around their hen house and are pumping out the eggs. We got 14 yesterday and 10 more today. Elvis, the rooster, is in heaven, 15 girls to himself and no competition in sight. Yes spring is definitely looking good to all of us right now.

And how my boys love the driveway, we have a pretty long one and I refuse to pave it. Break up is just no fun if you can't channel water and create public water works and feats of engineering genius. Every boat is part of the flotilla that fills our puddles. Cold and slushy puddles are the best kind to fall in, just ask my washing machine.

Spring I love you! Summer is coming. Fall, a long way off but full of pleasant memories. Winter you need to go.

I guess what I am saying is; I love the seasons, the changes, fleeting moments that remind me to enjoy what's in front of me without forgeting the joys of things to come and pleasures of the past. Everything is changing and we best love where we are.

Peace and Love

Twix-Tacular Knock Off

Last week for the water color class I offered to bring a "Twix" copycat bar. When asked "what is a Twix copycat bar, I think I answered "a chocolate caramel ultimate evilness that I am afraid to make and be alone with in my house" Yes a 9x13 pan of chocolate and caramel scare me, bears in the woods, yeah not so much.


I made these on a craft day in and around felting eggs. They are easy, fast, really good, and they look pretty. I only managed to bring one home for my husband...and there were only 9 of us in the class...see? I knew I needed someone to be watching how many I ate except they were all busy stuffing their faces too painting.


A blogger friend made these, well they looked so good I had to make them. Thanks Coleen, they were a hit.


Twix Copycat Bar--oven 350˚

shortbread base
1 cup cold butter
2 cups flour
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
whirl these in a food processor
they will clump up a bit but won't make a "real" dough, that's OK
simply press the crumbles into a 9x13 pan
bake for 20-25 minutes

meanwhile make the caramel filling
in a heavy sauce pan over medium heat cook together:
3/4 cup of butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
3 Tablespoons corn syrup
1 can sweetened condensed milk
cook and stir, always stirring
until it boils
then reduce heat and simmer for 7 minutes, keep stirring don't stop!
remove from heat until cookie base comes out
pour over hot cookie
chill in the fridge until firm
then melt together:
2 cups chocolate chips
1 teaspoon butter
spread over the cooled base and caramel
sprinkle with sea salt

I think next time I make these (the Share Our Strength Food Bloggers Bake Sale) I will cook the caramel a bit longer, I felt it was too soft. Although they held up well in the warm painting class room I think a bit harder would make them perfect.

About the Share Our Strength Food Bloggers Bake Sale. It will be the 17th of April, I hope to have my location nailed down in the next 2 days. I am looking for a few crafty souls, maybe you own an etsy shop, or just like to sew, I would love to gather a few pretty aprons to sell at the bake sale booth. Any ideas? Want to donate? I am open to all ideas! I will also(hopefully) be adding a donate button to the sidebar soon so friends can donate from afar.

and this is what my husband got after I took the picture-HA!

What to do with a box

Taking the giant leap from shopping weekly to bi-monthly means we buy in BULK. Like 15 pounds of oranges, 4 pound bags of quinoa, too many chocolate chips (possible?) and 10 pounds of oatmeal. Lots of food, lots of boxes. We recycle most of the boxes, either at the recycling center or as storage or use them for shipping.

My kids claim quite a few too. The big flat fruit boxes that Costco packs your groceries in make excellent sleds for baby otter to ride in. Kids? not so much. But they keep trying and our old yellow dog keeps dragging the scotch taped on handle right off the sled in her lust for a half a crumbled dog biscuit in exchange for "pulling the sled" (aka destroying it) Both parties seem happy with the system so I don't complain.

We had an odd box this last trip from 10 pounds of oatmeal.Yes, indeed that IS a lot of oatmeal, but we'll eat it up soon enough. The box though, didn't get crushed or used to start a bonfire it just got kicked around for a few days next to the recycling bins. Monday night our four was wandering around a bit, looking to fit in but also feeling a bit out of sorts, nothing was interesting. I let him wander a bit while I puttered with dinner. He found a bit of brothers 'treasure' and wanted to give it to him. I suggested we wrap it up as a way to spend a few minutes with my boy while dinner was working it's magic. We got out an envelope and practiced writing big brother's name, added the jewel, sealed it but it was missing something. We decided to mail it and grabbed up the oatmeal box, dropped it through the handle holes. Voila! a mailbox was born.

The four was entranced. He methodically wrote letters to everyone. When he went to bed I mailed both little boys a letter. They were thrilled to have mail in the morning. There is a certain joy in opening a mailbox and finding someone has taken the time to write a few words to you. A craft I'm sure must be suffering in this day. I can't remember the last time I got a letter in the mail. Until now that is.

We set out to make our box more permanent this morning, we decided to duct tape it. Can you tell we live right next door to Wasilla, the town that buys the most duct tape every year? Anyway we spent a long morning cutting, discussing and mummifying the mailbox in duct tape. Union, 6, set about making a flag, which you can lower and raise for the mailbox. Lastly we concocted a little latch handle to keep the door from getting pushed inside.

A box of full of old envelopes(thrifted), labels (thrifted), index cards and pieces of junk-ish mail proved a good addition to the mix. Plus a nice selection of pencils and markers. I also hand printed out a list of frequently used words like Mom, Dad, brother, dog, love and thank you, so they can successfully write up simple notes by themselves.
We enjoyed our morning although we all got a bit grouchy, then I realized it was snack time. After a quick fruit break we were back on track. I count this among the holy moments my kids have given me. Quietly working, sun on my back, sharing, talking, laughing and succeeding.

Peace and Love



PS-the letter I wrote to Union, 6, asked him how his tooth was, it has been awfully loose for a long time, this morning before coming downstairs he was pushing it with his tongue and POP it fell right out, he thought it was funny to get a letter about his tooth after it fell out

obligatory lost tooth shot, why yes, yes he IS wearing his abominable snowman halloween costume I made him when he was four, and you ARE right it IS on backwards

The Best Baked French Fries

I got a subscription to Cooks Illustrated magazine for Christmas and I have to say this, it may be my favorite magazine. I love the way they detail each and every step along the way in developing a recipe. And the science behind the recipes is nice to know too, however fleeting.

I saw this recipe for the best roasted potatoes in the first issue I received and tried it right away. I have since lost that issue, found that issue and passed it on and have not looked at the recipe again. Yet I keep cranking them out. And we keep munching them down.

To the best of my recollection this it. Except I know some parts are missing. I could go to a lot of trouble looking for the recipe but I think mine pretty much nails it. I made them into french fries instead of just chunks for fun eating.

Best Baked French Fries oven 425˚

5 large baking potatoes
3 tablespoons of oil

bring a large dutch oven full of water to a boil
meanwhile scrub potatoes
slice into french fries wedges
when the water is boiling add potatoes and boil for about 7 minutes
remove from boiling water and drain well
when they are dry add them and the oil to a large bowl
stir gently to cover with oil
spread on baking sheet
bake for 20-25 minutes until they cooked through
then run them under the broiler to brown slightly if desired
serve hot with brown mustard or your favorite dipping sauce

150 year old china is optional of course

If I remember right it has something to do with the creamy slightly mashed potato glaze they get when the oil is stirred in. So gently stir until coated with it.

I have been making home baked french fries for a LONG time, these are far and away superior to anything I have ever made before. Enjoy!

Oh MAN!! Did you see the awesome recipes that were shared yesterday?!? Paneer, quick marinara, pizza omelet, cabbage soup, nutritional yeast, carrot broccoli soup--I think this week is going to be a soup week, it's cold up here! You know those spring-ish days when you throw open the windows but need a sweater? Yes, that's where we are.

You know what's funny about spring? It is such an ugly time of year, brown, dirty, scraggy, mangy and yet we are so DESPERATE for a change, we love it!! I always look back at pictures of spring and think  "ew disgusting what was I thinking?" I was thinking; hot damn it's not white on white, burn your eyes out, out there anymore!! It's such a great feeling but such a relief when it pretties up out there.

In other news the plant rack is up and loaded with flats. We have basil, celeriac, brussels sprouts, marigolds, alyssum and lobelia going right now. We also planted some corn to grow long term and be transplanted as larger plants outdoors. I know the corn will suffer but it made a 4 year old so, very, happy, to his very core to plant corn.

Peace and Love,

Just Another Meatless Monday #4 Tomato Spinach Soup

What a wild and crazy weekend!

I came home Thursday to this:

My kitchen floor 1/3 of the way removed and a sheepish husband who exclaimed "damn thought I'd be done by the time you got here"


Friday I took a water color painting class, it was a blast, my painting:

Please bear in mind I cropped it, to protect the innocent, so the quality is shot. Thanks Kelly for taking the photo and posting it to facebook so I could steal it and use it. Truly Kelly, thanks for organizing the class it was awesome!!

Then we did this on Saturday:

Yep! We finished removing the old linoleum in our kitchen and uncovered the original wood floors. Now we have to figure out what comes next.

Saturday night I judged a fashion/sewing show featuring kids 18 and under. I love to see the art of sewing passed along to kids and the excitement level was up there.

Sunday I made a huge mess in my kitchen, making 3 pizzas, bread, cinnamon rolls, jalapeno cheese rolls and cookies. I bought a 25 pound bag of flour and it didn't fit in my usual storage jars. I don't usually buy so much but I was at the Natural Pantry and it was a great deal, so I bought it. Kneadless (ha!) to say we are set for a week of good eats.

Sunday also brought listening to/feeling the Crow Creek Pipes and Drums band at the library, cleaning the chicken coop, and tomato spinach soup on the fly. Even with careful planning dinner time can still sneak up on me. Thankfully crushed tomatoes came to my rescue and we had a simple lovely dinner in about 30 minutes flat.

Tomato Spinach Soup

5 cups crushed tomatoes, I used canned not fresh because well, yeah because
4 cups water or vegetable stock, more as needed
bay leaf
1 tsp thyme
3 sage leaves
1 tablespoon chopped garlic, less if desired
1 tsp sugar
6 ounces bow tie pasta
salt and pepper to taste
2 cups fresh spinach leaves, washed

in a dutch oven over medium high heat bring the tomatoes, water/stock, bay leaf, thyme to a simmer reduce heat and keep at a low simmer
crush the sage leaves and sprinkle them in
add the chopped garlic, I used a spice ball which is like a tea ball only bigger, I wanted the flavor of the garlic but not the chunks, you could sub in garlic powder too just don't use as much
add the sugar
let it simmer for 10 minutes
halfway through check for water, if you need a bit more liquid to cook the pasta add it now
return to simmer
then add pasta simmer gently for another 10 minutes
taste for salt and pepper and add as needed
snip the fresh spinach into the soup and continue cooking until the pasta is done
taste again for salt and pepper
cool briefly before serving

We had this with fresh bread, red anjou pears, and asparagus roasted with garlic. Rather simple but the perfect end to a long weekend.

So it's Just Another Meatless Monday around these here parts. I hope you'll think of joining in the fun. Any post on your blog, new or old can be used. To add the Just Another Meatless Monday button to your post simply copy the html code in the box and add it to your post in the edit html area for that post, easy! Or just link up and leave a comment. Be sure to check out the other links to get a little inspiration and leave a little inspiration for them.

Everybody who links up today and next week will qualify for an ADDITIONAL entry in to the Le Creuset  French Oven giveaway. Go to that post and leave a comment there.



Peace and Love,

Le Creuset Giveaway

Because I am selfless I bring you this giveaway. Because I love you all more than my own cooking pleasure, I bring you this giveaway. Because I believe in products with longevity, I bring you this giveaway. Because I can, I do. Thinking of this giveaway I was trying to justify the expense of some household items. When my husband and I look for things we know we plan to keep for a long time we research, we save our money, we plan and think. We don't usually run out and buy the cheapest we can find nor do we make it our intention to purchase the most expensive product available. We look at quality, customer reviews, recommendations from friends and, ahem, how much money we happen to have. We also look around our home to see which products we know and love. Which items have stood the test of time. And which ones aren't worth it. We have a TV that was mid range in price, big enough to see from across the room and it has lasted 5 years. We have my grandmothers table put away for now while we have little boys but it's 70 years old, solid wood and gorgeous. We have bar stools at our counter that are 30 years old and going strong. We have a brand new hunk of junk coffee maker I would never recommend to ANYONE. We look at past purchases and then grudgingly spend the money.

Last year for my birthday I received two quality presents that have made my cooking life a dream. A 6qt professional KitchenAid mixer and a Le Creuset 6 qt French Oven. Both highly recommended from friends, online and personally, we had a small Le Creuset skillet that we both loved and wanted more of. We have since purchased more Le Creuset and plan on keeping it for about FOREVER! It's amazing and durable and gorgeous and will last a lifetime, the extra money spent was money well spent. We will never have need for another French Oven and if we do it's guaranteed. For life. That's quality. It's worth the extra money. It's not supporting a disposable lifestyle, slave style labor and the lust for cheap goods. When you can find quality save up your money and buy it. Or win it.

Right here!

I'll give you a moment.

Better? Okey Dokey then. 

Yes, pick your jaw up off the floor. I am giving away a 2 3/4 quart Le Creuset Round French Oven in Flame Orange. Enamel over cast iron beauty. Flame orange, did I say that already? A wonderful company CSN is sponsoring this giveaway. I have not received anything from them, I could either give something to you guys or review something. I chose a product I know and love to giveaway, to you, you're welcome.

You will have up to 7 chances to win, all comments need to be left here on this post to be considered valid entries

1. go to CSN and leave a comment telling me what you would buy if you could have anything you want from their over 200 stores
2. become a follower or if you already are just leave a comment
3. follow me on twitter-leave a comment
4. tweet this "@whats4dinnermom rocks! She is giving away a Le Creuset French Oven http://heywhatsfordinnermom.blogspot.com/ check her out"---leave me a comment
5. post about this giveaway, let me know where it is in the comment section
6. join in and share a vegetarian post on Just Another Meatless Monday either the 22nd or the 29th and leave a comment here on this post for either of those entries

This giveaway will run from the time of posting until 11:59pm Monday March 29 with the winner being announced on Tuesday March 30! Open to USA and Canadian readers only!

Peace and Love,

.: Making Sauerkraut and a Leprechaun Report :.

Quick, run now, directly to the nearest grocery store and buy at least 5 cabbages while they are still on sale. Got 'em? Good! Now get ready to make sauerkraut. Yeah sure you can buy by the gallon at Costco but have you ever had real homemade sauerkraut? I have and it beats store bought hands down.

It's easy to do, I made some tonight while my husband went 'hunting' with our boys. They wore their green cloaks for St. Patrick's day {insert obligatory adorable picture here} :

and promptly decided they must go hunting with their bows, with dad, tonight. And they did. Hence me making sauerkraut blissfully alone in the silence of the setting sun.

You will need cabbage and pickling salt, how many and how much depends on how much cabbage you procure. You will need 3 Tablespoons of pickling salt to every 5 pounds of cabbage.

You will also need a crock or large jar, a wooden spoon, cutting board and a sharp knife. A mandolin makes the cutting faster but I have cut it with a knife before it just takes longer. I am not as apt to randomly slice off a finger tip with a knife so both ways have their pros and cons.

A friend will make the work easier but if you crave silence like I did tonight you might just like to work alone.
Make sure your work area is clean
measure out your salt and set aside
Remove outer cabbage leaves and wash the head of cabbage
Working with one cabbage at a time cut the cabbage into quarters and remove the core, save for snacking it's the best part
then with either a knife or the mandolin slice the cabbage into 1/4 inch wide shreds

remove any larger chunks of cabbage also save for making cabbage and cheese
put the shreds in the crock and sprinkle with a bit of salt
give it a pound with the wooden spoon
continue on until all the cabbage has been shredded, salted and pushed down
then keep mashing the cabbage down, it will reduce by about half

you are jump starting the lacto-fermentation process by releasing the cabbages juices and mixing them with salt giving the the lactic acid producing bacteria a happy home to bubble up in
the liquid will eventually cover the cabbage, when this happens put a board or plate over the cabbage to keep it submersed
lacking a board that fits in my crock I used saran wrap right down on top of the cabbage and juice and pressed out any air and tucked it right down in there
another method you can use it to fill a clean ziploc bag with water and lay it over the cabbage, this will seal the top and keep air out-that is your goal keep air out
let the crock or jar sit and sit and sit and then? sit some more
check it every day and skim off and scum that forms, then recover with a clean board or saran wrap
it should become pickled and translucent in 2-3 weeks
as long as it keeps bubbling it is still fermenting
just keep skimming until fermentation is done


Speaking of rotten things, our leprechaun was a wild one last night! He came mysteriously in the night kicking around green sprinkles. He seems to have grabbed Unions watch, an old costume ring and some coins. Then when he was attempting to get to a pile of gold coins in a carafe he must have slipped and almost fell in. We don't know what happened but he dropped all of his loot in and around the carafe and left. We later found the felted leprechaun trapped by one shoe in a mouse trap. Poor guy. After we set him loose, and snapped his picture with the traps and set him free, he promptly disappeared and hasn't been seen since. We reset the carafe trap in a last ditch effort to live off easy street.

Peace and Love,