Deep Fried Cauliflower with Tahini Sauce

24 Mar

 

 

 

 

 

 

    Here is a fun and easy new way to eat your veggies! This was a request of my OH’s so I pulled down our Lebanese cookbook – Classic Lebanese Cuisine by Chef Kamal AL-Faqih. A fabulous cookbook I must say. 

The Lebanese name for this dish is Arnabeet Mickli ma Taratoor. It is my new favorite way to eat cauliflower – which means I will be buying it more often than once a year! ha. I will admit that I got my OH to make the tahini sauce for us as he’s got the touch for it and I….well, something always goes wrong with it. All well. I think next time I will do two heads of cauliflower as one just wasn’t enough!

Ready? Here we go.   for the cauliflower you will need :

2 tsp salt

1 head cauliflower, about 2 1/2 lbs

3 cups canola oil (for frying)

to prepare – Place a large pot of water (about 8 cups) and the salt over high heat. Cover and bring to a boil. Meanwhile, remove all leaves from around the stem of the cauliflower. Cut the florets off the central stem into 2 to 3 in pieces. Try to keep consistent in size – not like I did. heh….

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Put in boiling water and cook uncovered, stirring a couple of times, for about 5 minutes. Drain. Evenly spread florets out on a flat tray and let cool for 30 minutes uncovered. They must be cool before frying or they will fall apart. 

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan ( I actually used a deep pan… you could try it in a shallower one but …that’s a lot of splatter to clean up after…. up to you I suppose) over medium-high heat to 375 degrees. ( I only heated it to about 220 degrees which made the frying go slower but i couldn’t wait any longer…) The oil should be about 1 1/2 inches deep. Fry 4 to 5 florets at a time til golden brown and the edges are crispy. Remove with a slotted spoon and place in a paper-towel lined dish. 

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Make sure the oil stays at 375 degrees ( or if you’re like me, 220) to be able to fry the florets evenly.  Fry remaining cauliflower. (If you prefer, you can serve the cauliflower steamed.) 

For the Tahini Sauce :

1 lg clove garlic

1 tsp salt

1/2 c tahini (mix well before using)

1/3 c freshly squeezed lemon juice

1/4 c water

1/4 c finely chopped flat leaf parsley

To prepare:

place all in high speed blender ( we used our Vitamix) and blend blend blend. If you don’t have one of those – here’s the other way :

in a small bowl, mash the garlic and salt to a pulp using a pestle. Add the rest of the ingredients but the parsley. Whisk until smooth and creamy, the consistency will be like pancake batter. Use a spoon to mix in the parsley. Cover and refrigerate until needed. Tahini sauce may thicken once refrigerated – thin with lemon juice or water. 

To Serve:

Place tahini sauce in a small bow in the center of a platter. Arrange the warm or room-temperature cauliflower around the tahini.

And ENJOY! 

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This is half a head of cauliflower =)

 

Chronic pain has made me weary

21 Mar

Can I just use this time as a little ‘therapy’ session? 

Thanks. 

I am really overly tired of feeling like this. It reminds me of why I become a bit of a hermit when it goes on like this – I don’t like having to tell everyone that no, I’m still not feeling well and yes I’m trying everything the doctor recommends. No one is judgemental or anything negative, I think that it just makes me realize just how bad i have been lately – for quite a while actually – when I have to say it out loud. Example : I haven’t felt ‘normal’ – energetic, motivated, well rested, pain free etc.. etc.. – since October of last year , except for about a week and a half. Sigh. I’m over it. I have had more days of sitting on this couch on the laptop or staring painfully at the ceiling than I ever wanted or dreamed I would.

Years ago, I used to get these and work and go to culinary school but honestly, if they were like these are now? I wouldn’t have been able to do it. I wouldn’t have done any of it actually. Another Sigh. Just another reminder that my health is getting worse instead of better. 

I want to be able to plant my garden this spring; I want to start running every day with my dog ; I want to take my nephews/nieces to the park; I want to get a part time job and help with bills; I want to have enough attention span to write every day. . . . So many things I dream of doing ‘when I’ve got my health back’ and one day I want to believe I will do them. Hopefully it won’t be because I’ve taken more pain pills or have just decided to ignore and push back the pain. 

My acupuncturist has suggested a new thing to try called ‘the Fast Metabolism Diet’ since it kick starts the Thyroid and the Adrenal Glands (i.e. what I need!) I have the book ordered and am looking for it to come in the mail next week, so I am thinking I’ll be able to start it that next Monday, I think that’s April 1st. (that makes my OCD happy, starting the beginning of the month!) and I am really hoping it helps! My OH said he’d do it with me, and that will definitely help out. 

I did work out today, that is another thing I am hoping to start doing every other day. I also want to do stretches on the opposite days. I have, on my left side, a ‘sensitive’ shoulder blade and hip that need a lot of stretching and TLC. Joy.

Chronic pain may have made me put so many dreams on hold, but I must say that I am thankful that it didn’t hold me back from meeting and marrying the man I’d been waiting for. Chronic pain has helped me grow in my faith and in compassion for others. Chronic pain has made my joy in seeing others going after their dreams twofold. 

Chronic pain has made me weary. But I will not give in or give up.  I will keep up the fight. Hour by hour. Day by day. 

So, good night dear friends, and remember to be thankful for the blessings you have been given. The Lord is walking each step with us throughout our entire lives. Image

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Natural Oven Cleaner – part 2

17 Mar

Today is Deep Cleaning Day.

A few months ago I hung up a ‘weekly cleaning schedule’, hoping it would help me on the road to being a better housekeeper. I genuinely want to keep the house up for me and my OH, since I am not working right now, I definitely have the time! But things get in the way – be it a day out at my parents’ , a walk at the dog park or another migraine, something always seems to drain my limited energy reserves before I get to the cleaning part of the activities.

While I haven’t done as well with the cleaning schedule as I had hoped, it has gotten me to thinking about cleaning more often – which was part of  the goal! Along with the regular daily chores – laundry, dishes, sweep, etc… each day has ‘vacuum’ , ‘appliance’ , dusting’ and so on. So far, each week I have done one of these things. Last week it was vacuuming the couches and rug. This week (due to cleaning the oven end of last week) is appliance day.  I have cleaned the fridge (huzzah!), the coffee pot, wiped off the blenders and the espresso machine and cleaned the oven racks.

For the oven racks, last night  I did some research last night (on pinterest of course!) and found a delightful idea that claimed to be almost effortless.

All you do is put your oven racks in the tub and cover with hot water. Add 6-8 dryer sheets. Let soak overnight. The lady I was reading from – One Good Thing by Jillie – also added some dawn dish soap to the mix. Apparently the anti static agents in the sheets break up the food from the rack and the softening agents soften the food that’s been baked on. Then, you use the dryer sheets to scrub the remaining gunk off.  Now, she left it overnight plus some, but as my OH is the first one up in the morning, I knew I couldn’t do that. So, as soon as he’d left for work, I set these to soaking. I let them soak for about 5 and a half hours. Hoping that was enough time, I started scrubbing on them.

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soaking in the tub

At first, I was excited! They were coming clean! Huzzah! But then the elation wore off as I realized I had picked the one side of the rack that was the cleanest to start with…. While they are significantly cleaner than they started, it wasn’t as amazing as I had hoped. Granted, I didn’t leave them overnight and I didn’t have a scrub brush to really work at the gunk (I’ve really gotta get me one of those soon!) – but my overall rating of this Pinterest cleaning tip is a half-fail.

Half fail for me and half fail for it.

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finished product

After the racks were back in the oven, I started soaking the pans (meant to have them soaking first thing in the morning! oops). But as I am out of vinegar and baking soda ( add those to the list!) I poured some lysol and laid one of my reusable cleaning wipes ( for that post, click here ) in the water just for the heck of it. While those soaked, I took a mandatory break. Once I could pry myself back off the couch, I wiped out the —what’s it called? The under-the-burner-pans-top-of-the-oven…. Always gets so dirty there. You can always tell which burner you use most – for us it’s our one large burner. Yeah, three small burners and one large. What genius thought of that??? Pbbt.

Anyway, Scrubbed all the rest of the surface of the oven. Knobs. Burners. Front. Handle that gets greasy gunky. You get the idea.

Grabbed my car wax – yes, you read that right. I told you I’d use it for cleaning the oven! Just wax the top of your stove, rub it in and rub it off and it’s supposed to make future spills come right off! I’ve never done it before so we will see if it actually works. But the top does look a lot nicer now! =)

 I scrubbed the pans – will absolutely have to give them some serious TLC next time around as they are still pretty sad – and put the oven all back together.

All Clean!

All Clean!

This is the cleanest the oven has been in a looong time! I hope to keep it kept up from this point on.

Happy cleaning!

~Laura

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Natural Oven Cleaner

14 Mar

Have you ever had something that you needed to do, badly, but never seemed to remember when you actually had the time?

That thing for me lately has been cleaning my oven. I’m guessing this is a common problem- assuming you don’t have the self-cleaning oven. (which by the way, is now on my wish list). I always seemed to remember that I needed to clean it when I was cooking something and airing out the house from the smoke of it…..

Not the most fun way to spend your evenings.

Months ago, I had pinned a natural oven cleaner so last night I decided to give it a go.  I wanted to get it on in the evening and let it sit all night to wipe out this morning. 

It was a super easy recipe to mix, and I had all the ingredients. Being the baker at heart that I am, once mixed, it reminded me of frosting. (yes, it did make me want to take a bite but trust me, I didn’t. Although my dog, Lady, watched me very closely the whole time). 

All it took was some dish soap, a lot of baking soda, a bit of salt and vinegar. I did add water to make it easier to spread. It was suggested to spread with a pastry brush, but as I didn’t have one, I got genius and used, errr… well.

My hands. 

MESSY. Let me tell you. But it worked. I spread it all around the sides, bottom and door , here’s what it looked like :

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I just put the shelves back in for overnight. Shrug. 

Come this morning I put on grubbies, grabbed a rag and went to work, very hopeful that all I would have to do was wipe the cleaner off and I’d have a sparkling clean oven.  I didn’t take into account how much work it would be just to get it all off! Being as it’s made from soap and baking soda, that stuff spreads quite happily. Heh.  

Scrub. Wipe. Get up and rinse cloth out. Repeat. 

My back was starting to hurt by the time I was through. All I had to use was a rag washcloth – no scrub brush or scrubbie, so it didn’t end up as clean as I had hoped. But, boy, the difference is incredible! And there were no chemicals for me to breathe in or absorb into my skin in the process! (A huge positive!)

Here is the finished product : 

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A bit more elbow grease and the rest will come up – but it’s the best that it’s looked since I moved in – almost a year ago now!!! – so I’m proud of it. And will use the natural cleaner again. So this pinterest test is a WIN!

To go see the recipe for the cleaner click here : http://www.gettingfreedom.net/naturally-deep-cleaning-your-oven/

 

My next project for the oven is cleaning the shelves and the burners, and something to do with car wax on top….. stay ‘tuned’ for the rest of this set of cleaning pinterest tests!

~Laura

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Pinterest test and a Mouse

4 Mar

The saga continues of adventures in our little house. We have mostly beaten the ants – we still have a few each day show up on the walls, desk or coffee table but nowhere near what they were like before. Yay. I am thinking I will wipe the walls down again and see if that helps! But, the most recent event happened last night. The light/fan in our bathroom decided to die last night. Kaput. 

No light. No fan whirring fitfully. Dead as a door nail.

So what do I, independent and strong woman that I am? Call my hubby.  He starts checking it out which equals pulling it apart. Off comes the light cover. Then off comes the grate part that covers all of it. As he gets it lower he says quietly ‘there’s a dead mouse’. 

‘What?’ – not comprehending, I lean in and he says it again and I, doing the only sensible thing at that moment of seeing a tail…. screamed and ran out of the room. 

Great way to show him how for years I’ve dealt with such disgusting problems. I think being married is softening me up. Gotta go wood cutting soon or something. 

Anyway, he took care of it all while I thanked him profusely. 

And now on to the real reason for this post. – – – –

I am mostly skeptical about a lot of the ‘fixes’ that are floating around Pinterest. Call me a pessimist. But even if I pin it, I still have a niggling doubt about the verasity of the claim. 

And, every now and then, I remember to actually TRY it. This morning was one of those! 

A while ago I saw the claim that if you have sensitive ears – which i do! – if you coat the earring back in vaseline, your ears will be fine. 

Well, I really wanted this to be true, for I’ve been stuck wearing the same earrings  for almost a year now and I’m over them. Sick of them. So, I bought a little travel sized vaseline -to fit with my small house –  and tried it this morning. 

ACK! I’ve been wearing the pearl earrings that my OH got me for our first Valentines Day together. (so sweet!!) They are my favorite earrings and it made me sad not to be able to wear them anymore. I have had them in all day and not an itching or burning sensation in either ear!!!!!! I might be saved! 

All I did was ‘stab’ the earring back  in the vaseline and moved it around a bit to coat it on good. Stuck it through my ear and said a prayer while I attached the plastic backing. And Voila! Thank you Vaseline!

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last minute hair fix before the ceremony

 

Book Review – February 2014

28 Feb

Hello hello! I am grabbing a few minutes in between everything to get this typed out (although I just realized I left the hummus and chips over on the kitchen counter… sigh). It is time for our monthly Book Review! I cannot believe how fast this month (mostly) went. I did not read as much of a variety of books this month as I had planned. I had wanted to start a book on Jewish culture and beliefs but will scootch that over to next month! I did have everything from a huge disappointment, to a try-and-read-as-much-as-you-can to ‘i’m in love with this book and all I want to do is read’ this month.

Well, let’s get started and hopefully you find something new to try!

  • Hans Brinker – by Mary Mapes Dodge  – — yes this was on last month’s list too! I FINALLY finished it. I must say I really enjoyed this classic ‘childrens’ tale although my interest did wane a bit in the middle. She does a fantastic job of describing Holland and telling the reader about the history of the place. The characters were delightful. My only problem was that it took me so long to read that I forgot who some of them were! sad. All in all, a delightful book.
  • A Northern Light – by Jennifer Donnelly  — another one that I started last month. this one, on the other hand, was a huge disappointment. I got to disc 3 (yes, it was an audiobook) Turned it off right away in shock at what I’d just heard and sent it back to the library the next day. sad.
  • Lights of the Veil – by Patty Metzer – – this is one of my ABSOLUTELY FAVORITES. I probably read this book three or more times a year. It is set in modern times, mostly in India – which makes it intriguing and fabulous right there. Christian faith and Hindu faith collide in this love story. Erica Tanner unexpectedly meets her late sister’s only son only to be kidnapped hours later and taken to India. Through bravery and lots of prayer, Erica unexpectedly makes a friend of  Prince Sajah Araji and through it all tries to fulfill her promise to her sister to not let her son be raised Hindu. It is a fantastic love story with suspense mixed in. All in all, a book that pulls you in from the first sentence ( I even had to read the first paragraph to my OH because her imagery is so wonderful)
  • Kisses From Katie – Katie Davis  — This one I heard of  from a blog I follow – Beyond the Cover  ( http://www.beyondthecoverblog.com/)  – and was able to get it from the library. It is a story of a young girl – fresh from high school- who put off college, said goodbye to her friends and boyfriend and headed to Uganda to do missionary work and how God changed her life, and those around her. Her entries are honest and touching – there isn’t any ‘prettying it up’ in this book.  It is a great, moving book. I absolutely recommend it. (I will say that the due date came and passed before I finished this! I read as much as I could before I absolutely had to take it back, which means I made it through all but the last two chapters)
  • The Shepherd’s Voice – Robin Lee Hatcher — This is another one of my favorites.  Finally free from prison, Gabe Talmadge can’t find work during the Great Depression. So he heads home to Ransom, Idaho to seek help from his harsh father. But he is rescued by a young woman that owns a sheep ranch. He is turned away by his father, but finds forgiveness and acceptance in Akira Macauley and in God. But tragedy strikes again and he must decide between his new faith and new life or if he will once again slide into the pit of despair and hopelessness. I absolutely adore Akira. If you must know, it’s more how I thought I would turn out to be! I love her depth of faith. This story is very sweet and a must read!
  • Duty and Desire – by Pamela Aidan — This is book two of her series on Mr. Darcy. Thank goodness for the library! This one is set more in his world – London and Pemberly. You get to know his sister, Georgianna, and some of his other relatives and friends more in this book. One of my favorite of his friends is Lord Dyfed Brougham. A great character. I am not sure that I have ever read this before… which is so fun! I just started this the other day so you will hear more of it next month!

I hope you found something you want to try  – let me know if you want more descriptions for the books…I have been hmming and hahing (how DO you spell those?) over it while I’ve been writing.

Well, it’s my OH’s birthday tomorrow – so if you know him – overwhelm him with your version of happy birthday on his voicemail or facebook. hehe. but don’t tell him that I encouraged you in it…

Happy Reading!

~Laura

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The yes-it’s-actually-working-for-me- skin treatment

25 Feb

I thought I would share this again! I bought another bottle of the Lotion with Potion over the holidays and they have changed their formula. While I still like it, and love that they’ve added peppermint, it didn’t last near as long as the last bottle (that one lasted a year! and here it is only 3 or so months later) It is still a lotion that I love though. Happy Cleansing!

Laura's avatarthe start of a good life

I have had, what i call, ‘skin issues’ (i absolutely hate the other words used for it ‘acn–‘ ‘pimp—‘ look , i can’t even type them. that’s how much i really do not use those words…) since a very early age. I can still remember my mom , bless her heart, telling me that since i started getting it so early, it would clear up sooner than most girls. . . . well, here i am 28 years old and still fighting it!
and losing to it mostly.
But recently i have found some things that have helped. and how overly glad that makes me!!!
So, i thought i would share them with you, in the chance that it might help you with your battle of the dreaded ‘issues’
step 1:
in the beginning of this year i splurged (well, that’s not entirely accurate, my OH did..) and bought Bare…

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Reusable Dusting Wipes (and other genuis)

21 Feb

Even if you don’t really care what chemicals are in the cleaning products on the shelves of your friendly – or not so friendly – store, this DIY cleaner is a huge money saver! And that is something I think most everyone can appreciate! I have LOVED having these ready to go when I need to do a quick swipe or an intense clean. Let me give you an example :

we have been overrun by ants. They started out a few at a time and now you can hear a thwak-smack of us killing them consistently throughout the evening. Disgusting. So a few days ago,, I grabbed one of these pre-soaked cloths and wiped down every inch of our bedroom walls. The vinegar, lemon and rosemary oil make for a great cleaner and smells so fresh and clean. The rest of the house is going to get similarly wiped down as soon as I can! 

I found a great list of DIY cleaners – from everything from tub cleaner to fruit and veggie wash on Popsugar’s site. Fabulous list. I plan on making several more of these cleaners but for now, this one I am a fan of! 

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I did make a few adjustments to the original ‘recipe’ .  I cleaned an empty peanut butter jar to use for this project. Added 3 cups water and 1 cup vinegar. I peeled a lemon, tossed the peel in and dropped 10-20 drops of rosemary essential oil. (feel free to use what scent you prefer!). Then I grabbed some small towels and smooshed them in. =) So simple and quick. And the best part?? Use one, wash it and smoosh (a great word, that) it back in the jar. Being OCD, I pushed them down to the bottom of the jar so they could soak longer. 

And there you go! A chemical-free super cheap cleaner! Here’s the original link. 

http://www.savvysugar.com/DIY-Dusting-Spray-32429125/

here’s the link for the whole list of cleaners! 

http://www.savvysugar.com/DIY-Cleaning-Products-28901279/#photo-33362792

 

Another fun project I did recently was transfer our loose leaf tea (it’s mostly what we use anymore. We have this great tea shop here,   Townshends Tea house  ( http://www.townshendstea.com/ )   that we love getting our teas from) to containers. I don’t know about you but I really do not like trying to scoop tea from a little bag. Frustration.  

I had saved some tins from hot chocolate months before , so after rinsing and drying those out. This is what I came up with.

ImageThey aren’t very pretty to look at but they are so much better than the bags! one day I will get some better (i.e. prettier) paper to cover them with rather than the printer paper. 

Happy Cleaning Friends!

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Melt in Your Mouth Make You Come Back for More Candy Bites

17 Feb

Have you ever had those days where just getting out of bed is too difficult? Where the thought of cleaning the bathroom, or running a load of laundry drains the last reserve of energy out of you?

That’s where I’ve been since October. And let me tell you, it gets old – fast. The house didn’t get very clean, the meals were pathetic and coherent conversation was rare, but my OH was good about it. I spent more time in front of my computer and TV these past months than I normally ever would. Going out running errands with my mom would leave me completely exhausted with a migraine drilling a hole in my temples.

not fun. 

Naps became a necessity. Sleep at night became fitful. Symptoms popped up that really worried me. Finally I made an appointment with my naturopath. We did a blood draw to run labs on my thyroid. Years ago, I had taken hormone replacement therapy and thyroid pills but they did nothing for my migraines so I was skeptical that anything would work.

Two weeks in of taking them, I was certain I had been right. Nothing had really changed – other than my mood swings (which was so nice to have my calm personality back!!!) Finally I am seeing some results. Yes, I still need a ridiculous amount of sleep – Example: I get up to make my OH’s breakfast and go back to bed for a couple hours. Then need an hour or so nap three hours later.  But most of the worrisome symptoms have disappeared. I’m so relieved. My migraines are easing off bit by bit – for now. It is nice to feel halfway normal again. 

So because of that, I have been able to mess around with the amounts for this ‘candy’. It is deeeelicouuuuus , but i am hoping to tweak it a bit more to get the consistency and flavor that i am really going for. Super simple. Quick. Delicious. Gluten, dairy and egg free. What more could you ask for? 

Melt-in-your-Mouth-Make-You-Come-Back-for-More -Candy Bites

Butter – 1/2 cup (1stick) – softened

Cacao powder – 1 1/2 TB

Coconut Palm Sugar – 3/4 cup

Salt – smidgen

Coffee grounds – 2TB (brewed grounds of course!)

Nut mix – about 1/2 cup

Cream the softened butter. Add rest of ingredients except the nuts. I like to chop my nut mix up a bit in the little blender before I add them in. Taste test mix. Feel free to make it a bit sweeter if you like! Add nuts. Scoop onto a plate or small dish and spread out. Put in freezer til firm. Cut into small squares and serve.

~Like I said, I am still experimenting with the amounts. I am also thinking of making it without the coffee next time (as we tend to eat it late at night and the caffeine isn’t sleep-friendly). Another switch I am thinking of is somehow adding in pomegranate. MMMM. Still pondering that addition though. Enjoy! And please let me know if you try it out! 

My next baking attempt will be rice pudding – since I made way too much rice the other night for dinner! 

Until next time, Laura

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beginnings of the avocado plant!!!

 

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Happy Birthday Mom

16 Feb

Can I tell you all a little secret. lean in close so you can hear. 

closer.

 a bit closer.

there you go – okay 

“I have the sweetest mom one could ask for”

Not only is she my mom, but she is one of my closest friends. The days are just wrong if I don’t at least talk to her on the phone. She is strong and independent and has a great sense of humor (which I inherited!)  Over the years, my friends have adopted her as their mom also  and have even told me to invite her along with us on our hanging out time. Now, if that’s not a cool mom, I don’t know what is. 

I was lucky enough that she was able to stay at home and raise us kids until I was 14 years old. Looking back on my childhood, she is always there. She became one of the first people I would turn to for advice, prayer or a hug. She taught me all her ‘home ec’ knowledge and shared stories of her own childhood in Oklahoma and California. She has an ‘Okie’ accent with some words – and apparently I’ve picked up some of those as well!

She has turned the hardships in her life into a strong faith and foundation for her family to lean on.  

 

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So Happy Birthday mom – I hope you have felt all the love  we hold for you. I pray blessings for you in the coming years. And don’t forget – I love you more. (hehe) 

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