The Weekend!!

What a nice weekend!!! We didn't really have a single plan and that was just fine! We slept in until a very decadent 10am, leisurely made our way to IHOP for breakfast, had yet another cup of Starbucks and headed down to IKEA for, of all things, picture frames. We came out of IKEA with a futon/sleeper sofa thing for Tiana's room, said frames, and some batteries. Some of the frames, unfortunately, aren't going to work for the purpose I bought them for, so the trip to Michael's to get the paint to paint them with was also a bust. Oh, well, they have all frames an ADDITIONAL 50% with a coupon this week. Can't beat that!!! I also took a nice walk with Jolyn. It's always good to be with her!! We had one worry, and that was Coda. He kept licking his front paw. So much so that the carpet was soaked!! (Gross, I know!) Anyway, his dew claw was looking really quite funky and so we wondered whether or not we should take him to the vet. We decided against it since there was no blood. He kept licking it more, though, so I had just decided I would take him in first thing tomorrow before work. After Meeting, though, we noticed that his claw/nail was missing on that dew claw. It had been looking quite weird, but now all that was there was a normal looking nail! And he's no longer licking that paw! Guess that dew claw had been injured at some point, and just like it works with people, a new nail was growing in under the damaged one and as that damaged one was making it's way out of the dew claw "toe", it was bothering him and now that it's gone, he's fine! PHEW!!
Today I took a very lazy nap, but then we went into Edmonds, had a coffee, took the dog for a walk down to the beach, went to Ivar's for dinner and I walked/ran home. That was a GREAT 4 miler that I did in 1 hour!! It was a beautiful evening for such a walk. Tiana's just pulled a batch of cookies out of the oven. Hope your weekend was as nice as ours!!

Cooking for multiples

So I'm finally getting around to doing some of the cooking I wanted to do a couple of weeks ago for our friends who just had twins. It's a bit harder to do with freeze-able recipes that have no gluten in them! One of Tiana's favorites, though, first came to mind and I tell you, they are so easy, so tasty and if made in muffin tins -- half the time in the oven! For each serving you just take out two "muffins" per person, so for them, there will be three meals worth of "muffins"!

Confetti Meatloaf
½ c. brown rice (cooked)
1 small onion, diced very fine
1 c. combined red and green pepper, diced very fine
1 Tbs. olive oil
1 lb. very lean ground beef or turkey
1 c. chunky salsa
¼ c. liquid egg substitute or 1 egg
¾ tsp. salt
½ tsp. ground black pepper
¼ tsp. celery seeds

Saute onions and green and red peppers in olive oil, about 5 minutes, or until soft. Combine meat, rice, salsa, egg substitute, salt, pepper and celery seeds. Add in sauteed vegetables. Bake at 350º for 45-50 minutes or until meat thermometer reads 160º. If using muffin tins, baking time is 15-20 minutes.
Makes 6 servings. (2 "muffins" per serving!)

273 calories, 17 g protein, 21 g carbohydrates, 13 g fat, 3 g fiber

Deliciousness

Last night I walked to P.F.Chang's and met the family there. As I was walking I noticed that the wild blackberry bushes that line the trail I was walking on didn't seem to have been touched by anyone and so they were just FULL of big juicy berries! After dinner we came home and then Kent and I went back and picked two good sized bowls full of berries. This morning I put some into a Bran Muffin recipe. They were SOOO good! (And good for you!!) I think I'll have to make another batch because I'll send some more on the road with my mother-in-law today. Diane has been here since last week on her way back home from spending the summer in Alaska. Now it is getting close to back-to-school time so we're going to have to start looking into buying a few school supplies and a few new clothes. Like you don't ever STOP buying new clothes for a fashion-conscious teenage girl!!

All-Bran Muffins
1 c. flour + ¼ c. whole wheat flour
1 Tbs. baking powder
½ tsp. cinnamon
¼ tsp. nutmeg
¼ tsp. salt
2 c. All-Bran cereal
1 c. milk
¼ c. sugar
1 Tbs. molasses
1/3 c. unsweetened applesauce
2 egg whites (or ¼ c. liquid egg substitute)
¼ c. oil
½ tsp. vanilla
1 c. washed, drained blackberries

In a bowl, combine the flours, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. In a large mixing bowl, combine cereal, milk, the sugar, molasses and applesauce. Let stand about 4 minutes or until cereal softens. Add egg whites, oil and vanilla. Beat well. Add flour mixture, stirring only until combined. Gently fold in blackberries. Portion batter evening into 12 muffin pan cups coated with cooking spray. Bake at 400º for about 20 minutes or until golden brown.

141 calories, 5g fat, 22g carbohydrates, 3g fiber, 4g protein

NO WAY!!!

I DID SOME CRAFTING TODAY!!
This is for some friends of ours who just had twin girls. I'm pretty pleased with how it turned out.

Thoughts to ponder

So, I work in the retail/hospitality industry and have most of my working life. Some of the things I encounter just leave me scratching my head.

• There's the guy who daily demands his coffee, demands a very certain scone (if any should happen to meet his approval), and demands a cup of foamy steamed half-and-half to put in his coffee. (Technically, he asks for a breve misto and we charge him for a simple cup of coffee.) From there, he proceeds to the condiment bar, grabs multiple packs of sweetner, pours part of his coffee into the trashcan (and on the countertop!), puts maybe 1/2 of the packets of sweetner in his cup, a goodly portion of which is strewn about the countertop, and then he leaves the other 1/2 of the packets on the counter -- not at all where he found them! He leaves this mess daily for us to clean up. Oh, and he doesn't tip at all!
• There's the customer who drinks all but maybe a half-swallow of his/her beverage and brings it back and says it tastes bad, can we please re-make it? Sounds like another entirely free beverage to me!!
• There's the customer who tells us how to rearrange our furniture so she can have her meetings in our lobby -- like it is her own private office! And boy does she get upset when OTHER CUSTOMERS move it back! Um...she hasn't paid us for that space, any more than the others have!
  
• And today! Ah, yes, today! In addition to well-seasoned barista, I got to play plumber! And why?!?! BECAUSE SOMEONE PUT 8-10 WHOLE BLUEBERRIES DOWN THE DRAIN IN THE WOMEN'S RESTROOM!!! Can you believe that?!?! I had to be a bit creative in getting them out, and had to remove the trap, the whole nine yards! And they think I don't deserve a raise because I've "maxed out" my pay!!!

And that's really just a taste of what we encounter everyday!!

Baking!

I LOVE to bake and since it is convention time, it means I get to bake to my heart's content and since I need to save each morsel to share, it means I don't get to eat any of it!! I have to admit, I've tried some new recipes and did share a cookie or two with the rest of the family, just to taste the recipe, but that is all! Of the over 500 cookies so far, we've eaten 3! This year I've also made biscotti for the first time ever. It's much easier than I thought, although it does take a bit more time than a traditional cookie. I also made some brownies from a new recipe. For the most part I made them because the word "AMAZING" was in the title. I couldn't quite imagine it when I saw what was so amazing, so I had to make them. It wasn't until I was making them that I realized that my many celiac/gluten-intolerant friends would like them, too! So I made them, the family says they are good, although they prefer my normal recipe, and the neighbor girl actually liked them A LOT until I told her what the magic ingredient is!! So, I'll leave you with the recipe. They are good, don't let the special ingredient scare you!!

Amazing Black Bean Brownie Recipe

Keep these brownies in the refrigerator, they will slice much better if refrigerated several hours or preferably overnight.

4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 cup unsalted butter
2 cups soft-cooked black beans, drained well (hint: canned is fine)
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
¼ cup (granulated) natural coffee substitute (or instant coffee, for gluten-sensitive) [I used finely ground regular coffee]
¼ teaspoon sea salt
4 large eggs
1½ cups light agave nectar [can be found at Trader Joe's or use honey]

Preheat the oven to 325°F. Line an 11- by 18-inch (rimmed) baking pan ( jellyroll pan) with parchment paper and lightly oil with canola oil spray.

Melt the chocolate and butter in a glass bowl in the microwave for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes on high. Stir with a spoon to melt the chocolate completely. Place the beans, 1/2 cup of the walnuts, the vanilla extract, and a couple of spoonfuls of the melted chocolate mixture into the bowl of a food processor. Blend about 2 minutes, or until smooth. The batter should be thick and the beans smooth. Set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together the remaining 1/2 cup walnuts, remaining melted chocolate mixture, coffee substitute, and salt. Mix well and set aside.

In a separate bowl, with an electric mixer beat the eggs until light and creamy, about 1 minute. Add the agave nectar and beat well. Set aside.

Add the bean/chocolate mixture to the coffee/chocolate mixture. Stir until blended well.

Add the egg mixture, reserving about 1/2 cup. Mix well. Pour the batter into the prepared pan. Using an electric mixer, beat the remaining 1/2 cup egg mixture until light and fluffy. Drizzle over the brownie batter. Use a wooden toothpick to pull the egg mixture through the batter, creating a marbled effect. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until the brownies are set. Let cool in the pan completely before cutting into squares. (They will be soft until refrigerated.)

Makes 45 (2-inch) brownies.

Reprinted with permission from Baking With Agave Nectar: Over 100 Recipes Using Nature's Ultimate Sweetener by Ania Catalano. (Ten Speed Press 2008)

I made a half batch and so they were a bit thicker. They are pretty sticky, so make sure to use parchment! I used my DeMarle pan and they still wanted to stick!

Almost time!!!

It's almost time for convention!! Four days of quiet reflection, still learning, separation and I know I'm ready for it, but I hope my heart is ready for everything it will surely hear! Today we went up to preps and in preparation for the most popular meal of the 4 days, we grated 130 pounds of cheese for macaroni and cheese! That little KitchenAid machine got quite the workout! Monday starts the big baking production so that we have something to contribute to the meals. I've got biscotti on the agenda this year! I've never made them, but I understand they are really much easier than one would expect! I hope so! Right now I have Blueberry Oatmeal Muffins in the oven to use up some extra blueberries I had. Tiana loves these muffins and they are healthy and good, so I can't go to wrong with them!

I also have some brownies on the agenda. They have a special secret ingredient so I'm going to write nothing else about them until I've tried them and see how they go over!! They LOOK good in the pictures!! I also have a skirt cut out for Tiana that I hope to get mostly finished tomorrow. I had kind of hoped to get a sundress done for me, but that would be best left for later! I tend to get a bit frustrated with such patterns for me, so better to save that for AFTER convention!! It shouldn't be that hard, but... I would love to get some freezer dinners done for some new parents-of-twins, but we'll see if that gets done before convention! Maybe one meal would be good! Have a good week!!