Skill Set

I used to be able to do the splits up the wall, flat as a pancake, and every other which way.

Now I can hold down a squirming toddler and change a diaper without making a mess.

 I used to be able to write literary criticism.

Now I can write school excuse notes.

I used to be able to converse about the latest educational research.

Now I can make up a song, on the spot, about anything.  

I used to be a personnel manager at a city park.

Now I am COO of my cute house.

I used to make Pasta Roni for dinner and eat it three nights in a row.

Now I can make Indian food from scratch.

I used to be able to take four hour naps.

Now I only dream about the opportunity.

I used to drive a 1985 Honda Accord with a manual transmission.

Now I rock a swagger wagon (Toyota Sienna).

I used to be a master flirter.

Now I have a loving marriage that always gets better. 

I used to be able to eat a pint of ice cream.

I probably still could, but it would make me soooo sick!

I used to babysit for extra cash.

Now I manage most of the finances.

I used to be able to do fouette turns.

Now I can run a marathon.  (Well, not exactly now, but in theory.)


I sometimes feel like I've lost a lot of my previous abilities.  I used to be good at some things, now I'm good at different things.  And there are lots of things I hope to be good at as my life progresses.  I'd also like to go back and sharpen some of the skills I've lost. You?
 

  

Taste of Tuesday - Bites!

I rarely make up my own recipes because there are so many great cooking blogs, websites, and cookbooks out there. Usually I find recipes that look tasty, try them, and tweak them a bit if necessary to fit my family's tastes or to make them healthier.  Here are three recipes that needed little or no tweaking.  They are all delicious and easy enough for anyone to do.  I hope you try one, or all, of them!

The first is from a new blog I discovered via Pinterest.  It is for homemade pretzel bites.  Jillian and I made these this weekend and they were great.  It is a perfect recipe to make with kids.  We did some salty and some cinnamon sugar.  The recipe is easy to follow and works.  My only problem was that during the boiling step, some of my water boiled out, so the second batch ended up tasting a bit too much like baking soda.  Next time I'll add more water in as I continue to boil my pretzel bites.  We'll be making this one again soon! 

The second recipe is from Our Best Bites.  Kate and Sara come up with lots of great recipes, but this one is very unique.  It is for Brazilian cheese rolls, like the ones you might get at a Brazilian grill restaurant.  They are made with tapioca flour (or starch), which I found in bulk at Winco.  The batter comes together so quickly in the blender, and then you pour it into mini muffin tins.  Pop the pan into the oven and minutes later you will have puffy cheesy magic.  I think these would be great with any Latin-based meal.  I served them when we had some friends over for a Mexican potluck and they were a hit.

I have to credit Kyle with the next recipes.  He's been playing around with popcorn and I've been enjoying the results.  We have been making sweet and spicy popcorn for our game nights.  It is so good!  I also like that you can use olive oil instead of butter (I wouldn't use the nonstick spray called for in this recipe because I don't like the chemicals).  You can vary the spices depending on your preferences.  We've tried it with and without cinnamon.  I like it both ways.  This Sunday Kyle made some key lime popcorn based on this recipe.  He left out the graham crackers and didn't make it into a syrup, which made for a much lighter version.  Good choice, I think.  The salt, lime, and sugar taste great with the popcorn.  Next up, maple bacon popcorn and coconut curry popcorn.  I am a bit skeptical about those, but I'll give them a try!

Making new foods is a fun way to be creative and taste new things.  I'm trying to get the little veggies at our house to be brave and eat more veggies.  I'm doing this by serving three veggies at dinner (not all dinners, but a few times a week).  Then I ask them to choose two to eat. Tonight's choices were:  sauteed asparagus and mushrooms, spinach in our lemon pasta dish, and baby carrots.  I was impressed that both Jillian and Hayden chose carrots and spinach.  Kara chose carrots and carrots (that's cheating), and Kate tried them all and said "don't yike it" to three of them.  I, of course, ate them all. 

Happy and healthy eating!  Hope you have some delicious bites this week.  Tomorrow night I'm trying this recipe for dinner, just to keep my meat eaters happy. 

In Pictures: Easter

Easter is one of my favorite holidays.  We ate a scrumptious dinner at my sister Shauna's house.  I was thrilled not to host!  I made these potatoes (got the recipe from Kyle's sister, who got it from her foodie chef friend) and they were delicious.  Definitely holiday food, as in not good for you, but well worth the splurge.  I don't have a photo of them. Just imagine a beautiful colorful dish. (Note:  I skipped the water bowl part of the directions, and I didn't make it beforehand. I also substituted some of the cream with half and half, and reduced the butter just a bit.  And it was still tasty!)


Scalloped Yukon Gold and Sweet Potato Gratin with Fresh Herbs

Two kinds of potatoes are thinly sliced and combined with cream, butter, cheese, and a mixture of herbs. Yield: Makes 12 servings Ingredients 1 1/2 pounds medium Yukon Gold potatoes 1 1/2 pounds medium red-skinned sweet potatoes (yams) 2 cups heavy whipping cream 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter 2 garlic cloves, minced 1 tablespoon minced fresh Italian parsley 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary 1 tablespoon minced fresh sage 1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme 1 1/2 teaspoons fine sea salt 3/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 1/4 cups (packed) coarsely grated Gruyére cheese (about 5 ounces) Preparation Fill large bowl with cold water. Working with 1 Yukon Gold potato at a time, peel, then cut into 1/8-inch-thick rounds and place in bowl with water. Repeat with sweet potatoes. Combine cream, butter, and garlic in medium saucepan; bring to simmer. Remove from heat. Mix all herbs in small bowl. Mix sea salt and black pepper in another small bowl. Butter 13x9x2-inch glass baking dish. Drain potatoes, then pat dry with kitchen towels. Transfer half of potatoes to prepared baking dish. Use hands to distribute and spread evenly. Sprinkle with half of salt-pepper mixture, then half of herb mixture. Sprinkle with half of cheese. Repeat with remaining potatoes, salt-pepper mixture, herb mixture, and cheese. Pour cream mixture over gratin, pressing lightly to submerge potato mixture as much as possible. DO AHEAD: Can be made 6 hours ahead. Cover with plastic wrap and chill. Remove plastic wrap before baking. Preheat oven to 400°F. Cover gratin tightly with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake until top of gratin is golden and most of liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes; serve. Okay, now onto the photos!  Kyle trying to explain to Sprout how to go on an Easter egg hunt.  She was not interested.  But she was interested in the contents of the eggs.  Friday evening egg hunt with our friends.  Saturday after another egg hunt and breakfast at our church, we headed to Portland.  We stopped by the new visitors' center at the temple and met up with some old friends from Boston and Portland.  We also hit Ikea, Cheesecake Factory, and Crate and Barrel.  All in all a lovely day!   Our kids got their faces painted at Ikea.  Not quite appropriate for temple grounds.  Oops!  Here they are with Seth and Alice.  These kids were little together in Boston years ago.   On Sunday it was sunny again!  I took the kids outside to get some photos.  Kate loved modeling her new dress.  She made some very silly faces.   Hayden always looks sharp in his Sunday duds.  Poor Asparagus could hardly keep her eyes open in the sun.  But doesn't she look darling?  Jilly Bean loves to laugh!   I didn't have anything new and exciting to wear, so I did my hair in a fun big bun.   Top/Side view.  I'm looking forward to more sun this weekend!  And some rain too, I'm sure.  I do live in Oregon, after all.   We had a tender moment in our family as we read scriptures on Sunday night.  We talked about who we are excited to see again when we are resurrected.  I was touched by the children's answers.  They mentioned great grandparents, Kyle's Dad, and Baby Peterson, whom we lost 6 years ago.  Now, I'm not sure that the pregnancy was far enough along that we will meet that spirit in the life after this one, but if we do, I know she will have some loving siblings.  I am thankful for the gospel of Jesus Christ and the reality of his atonement and resurrection!

Rethinking Sweet

Move over fat, sugar is the new evil food. Now, I'm not saying I agree with this article, but I do want to chime in with a couple of my own ideas about sugar.  I am trying to reduce it in my diet and my family's.  I am much more careful about what cereals they eat in the morning, and what snacks they have throughout the day.  I am also trying to reduce artificial sweeteners in our diet, which means no more Crystal Light, diet sodas (we're having Izze instead when we want a treat), or yogurt sweetened with Splenda or aspartame. Sometimes I get more gung ho in my own diet and try to eliminate most sugar for a short period of time.

I have taken a break from eating sugar several times for 1-4 weeks.  I like to do it after the holiday season just to give my body a break.  I also choose to do it when I feel tired and sluggish, or that my eating choices have been poor and my clothes aren't fitting well.  Now that I've done it several times, it has gotten easier.  I've also found that some sweet foods (real soda, processed baked goods, straight up sugar candy) are too sweet for me now.  Because I've been injured and haven't been able to exercise as much, I've decided to go off of diet soda and sugar for the month of April (or until my clothes fit again, although I am off soda for the whole month!).  For me, being "off sugar" means

- no dessert items (cakes, cookies, brownies, ice cream, etc.)
- no chocolate (sometimes I cheat on this one with extra dark chocolate - like 75%)
- very limited syrup, jam, honey
- very limited sugary crackers (like graham)
- very limited fruit juices (and only 100% juice)
- very limited yogurt (one per week of Chobani pineapple - my fave)
- homemade baked goods must be sweetened with agave nectar or honey, and I reduce the amount   called for
- no chocolate milk or chocolate almond milk
- no diet soda
- avoid artificial sweeteners

When I know I'm going on a sugar detox, I have to plan ahead to be successful.  I have a few foods I choose as my "treats" that I have on hand so I can eat one of them if I feel a craving.  Having options keeps me from going cheating.

The first food I love is Larabars.  I get the big box at Costco for the best value.  They are made from dates, nuts, fruit, and spices, and they are filling and tasty!  I don't get the ones with chocolate when I am off sugar, unless I had a very bad day.  The apple pie and peanut butter cookie ones are quite delicious, but I do like them all.

I also love to have fresh fruit available.  I will spend a little bit of extra money on blueberries, raspberries, or pineapple and then enjoy that as my dessert.  I don't do too many dried fruits, as many of them have added sugar, but I do always keep raisins on hand, and I love home-dried pears and apples.

Instead of soda I drink sparkling water if I need a different taste.  Because I don't drink milk, I sometimes get bored of just plain water.  I have found that adding a few tablespoons of fruit juice (like pomegranate or cherry) to sparkling water makes a great drink to sip on.  Not too sweet either!

The last thing I do is to try a few recipes for sugar-free treats.  A lot of the time they taste pretty nasty, but every once in a while I get a winner, and it tastes just as good as the real thing.  Here's the one I'm going to try next.  

There are lots of benefits to lowering or eliminating sugar from your diet.  Weight loss is a big one for many people, but I actually love how good other food tastes.  I am amazed how sweet many vegetables are.  I will now often have sugar snap peas and hummus for "dessert" at night, or a salad of mixed greens, nuts, grapes or strawberries, and goat cheese with a light dressing.  Whole grains taste better too, and foods are just more flavorful when your palate isn't overwhelmed by sugar. 

I will add one caveat to this:  I am not above trying a bite or two of something with sugar in it.  If we are out to eat and Kyle gets some amazing gelato, I will have a bite.  But I do try to keep it to just a bite or a wee bit.  It's amazing how fast you can turn your mind and taste buds back on to treats.  The good news is, I think I make a little bit more progress every time.  But I know I will always have a sweet tooth!

How are you feeling about sugar these days? 

Beach Weekend

Last weekend we rented a house near Depoe Bay, OR, with our good friends the P family.  We knew them in Michigan.  I love seeing friends from other times in our lives.  I wish we could get together with people more often.  Luckily for us, The P family moved to Washington, so we can see them at least once a year.  Our kids line up so well in ages and gender, and Kyle and I get along with J and J great too.  We had a lovely time whale watching, beach combing, playing games, shopping, hot-tubbing, and hanging out.  One night we had a fire on the beach and roasted marshmellows.  Michigan friends, let us know if you want to join in next year!

 Kyle takes the girls out exploring at the cobble beach tide pools in Newport. 

 The kids loved hot-tubbing twice a day.

 The beach was so close that we could go down several times a day.  But the tide had to be out.  When it was in, it was very close!  Most of the kids got caught by waves while trying to run away from them.  We had lots of wet shoes. 

 Here's all 8 of our kids.  Aren't they cute?  I love the littlest bookends.  These two were kissing and hugging each other.  I hope they get married some day!

Dallin and Hayden

 Jillian and Annabel - these two email each other all the time. 

 Joe and Kyle.  We couldn't get them to hug. 

 Jan and Amy

Sunset at the beach, my favorite.