Did It Myself Curry Powder – Take 1

One of the things I came to love from our stay in Atlantic Canada was their curry.  Hubs’ dad had a good recipe, and showed me the basics of a good curry sauce for chicken, beef, and veggies.  I bought his Venetian Gold recommendation, and used it up.  On one of our return trips there, I procured another bottle, and have since used it up.  All my attempts to find the stuff here have fallen flat, even Amazon failed me…so, I am on a mission to find a good diy recipe to rival it….stay tuned.

I found this recipe on deliciousobsessions.com.  I love how it is in parts, so I can make large amounts or small, without having to “math”.  Today I used tablespoons, and a repurposed jelly jar…if it works, I’ll use 1/8 cup and store in a larger jar.  It smells like heaven!

Here is the recipe:

4 parts coriander
2 parts turmeric
2 parts dry mustard
2 parts chili powder
1 part cayenne
1 part cumin
1/2 part cardamom

I am not a product snob by nature.  The spices I used are not fancy ones, I usually pick them up on sale.  Again…my house smells amazing and I haven’t even started cooking yet.  I believe tomorrow we will have chicken and veggie curry with cauli-rice.  I can’t wait.

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Tomato Basil Soup

We do meatless Fridays here at Les Buissonnets, and the husband has suggested grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup for supper.  This is a timely request, because my patio basil was starting to go to seed, so I harvested (forgot to take before pics, dang me) it to make tomato basil soup.

Because…regular tomato soup from a can cannot compare.

I used about a cup of fresh, chopped basil leaves, and sauteed with half an onion, finely chopped, and a couple tsps. of minced garlic in a smidge of olive oil until onion is translucent and the smell of basil reaches to the back of the apartment.

I rarely measure when I’m doing soup…I just throw in a little o’ this and a little o’ that.  This is the way my dad taught me to cook, may he rest in peace.

I add a large can of the cheapest, lowest sodium tomato soup, a small can of diced tomatoes (undrained), and 2 cups of whey…this is a good way to use up the whey after making yogurt in my instant pot, and adds probiotics and protein to an otherwise low nutrient soup.

Let it simmer…enjoy the aroma until supper time…then brag about it to all your wordpress and facebook friends.

Happy Friday.  Enjoy.

 

My Amazing “I can’t believe it’s low carb” Oatmeal Cookie Recipe


My husband was diagnosed with diabetes last summer, and we have been on a journey of discovery in the kitchen.  Learning to cook low carb has been a fun challenge, and he has lost over 50# since we started.

He has never been big on sweets, so that part has been easier than it would be for me. Still, he occasionally does want a cookie, and his favorites are oatmeal craisin.  I have been playing with a few recipes I found online and have finally got it to what I consider the perfect cookie.

Here it is.  Don’t say I never gave ya anything.

WHAT I USED:

1/2 cups whole wheat flour

1/2 cups almond flour

1/2 cup coconut flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon allspice

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 cup butter, softened

1 cup SPLENDA® Sugar Blend

2 large eggs

1 tablespoon molasses

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

3 cups steel cut oats, uncooked

1 cup craisins

1 cup chopped walnuts

 HOW I DID IT

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Stir together flours, soda, and spices in a separate bowl for later.

Beat butter and SPLENDA® Sugar Blend at medium speed in the Bosch Universal (using whisk attachment) until fluffy. Add eggs, molasses and vanilla, beating until blended. Gradually add flour mixture, beating at low speed until blended.

Change to cookie paddles, as this gets very thick and will bend your wire whips.

Stir in oats and craisins.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoons onto lightly greased baking sheets.  

Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool slightly on baking sheets. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.  The consistency of these cookies is very dense, so I like to kind of smoosh them flat after putting them on the cookie sheet, otherwise they cook in the rounded shape, and get too done on the outside and not enough on the inside.  Smooshing seems to do the trick 😉

I make a double recipe of this, unless we are having a crowd over, then I triple it.  While the first batch is baking, I drop dough as above onto a parchment lined cookie sheet (as many as will fit on that sheet, barely touching) and place in the freezer for later.  When they are frozen, I collect them all into a large ziplock baggie and keep on hand for a rainy day.  These last about forever for just the two of us, but they are nice to have on hand when the grands come over and help us eat them.


These make GREAT breakfast cookies, they are so filling and satisfying.  In the future, I may add sugar free chocolate chips to the mix, just for grins and giggles.

What’s for dinner

We are having planned-overs for dinner tonight.  Easy beef pot pie:

  • 1 leftover steak, diced
  • 1 potato, diced
  • 1 pkg. brown gravy mix
  • 1 can mixed vegetables, drained
  • 1.5 cups bizquick baking mix
  • milk – for baking mix batter

Cook potato in salted water until tender, add brown gravy (prepare according to directions, diced beef, and veggies, incorporate all together, then pour into 4×4 glass baking pan.

In a large bowl, combine baking mix with milk until consistency of pancake batter, pour over top of beef mixture.  Bake at 375* until batter is browned on top, and toothpick comes out clean when inserted into crust.

This is a great way to use up leftovers.  Mashed potatoes can be substituted for the biscuit crust, and any left over veggies would work in this.  Top with cheese and serve with a green salad and you’ve got a plate of good old fashioned comfort food, quick and easy!

Burrito mix

In my little kitchen this month, I concocted a delicious, frugal yet filling supper to feed a crowd.  I had two of my children and three of my grandchildren sharing this one, and there was still plenty leftover to pack in husband’s lunch the next day.  Here is the recipe (I loved it so much, I added it to my journal for future reference).  Enjoy.

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The Altar

The Kitchen has been called the heart of the home.  Family life is nurtured in the kitchen; conversations, tears and laughter coexist and comingle; food is prepared and consumed.  Generally, because of use and abuse, the kitchen is the messiest room in the house. If the kitchen represents the heart, the sink would be its altar.

The sink is where used vessels are gathered, scraped, washed clean, sorted and prepared for future use.  You can’t serve up a fresh hot meal on dirty dishes, now, can you?

In the same way, to be used effectively by God, we need to be cleansed regularly. Everyday use leaves the remains of what we had to offer on the surface of our heart.  Regret and unforgiveness will harden into bitterness if we are not careful to remove it promptly.   In the quiet of your kitchen, bring the dirty dishes of your life to the altar.  While you are scraping and scrubbing the congealed mess from the dishes, rinsing them clean, and putting things straight in your little kitchen, Let the Lord do the same thing on the altar of your heart.  With contrition, make a plan to right the wrongs that you have committed, and ask the Lord for the strength and resolve to follow through.  As you are putting away the clean dishes, and wiping up your workspace, thank the Lord for His goodness to you.  Ask Him to prepare you and enable you for the work that He has for you.

Regret, Guilt, and Shame are the ugly stepsisters of Contrition, the daughter of Truth and Pardon.  These stepsisters are hateful, ruthless, unforgiving, and usually gross exaggerators.  Don’t let them “help” in your kitchen.

To My Children…and their children…and their children’s (future) children

Mother’s Day typically is a day when we honor our Mothers, and if we are Mommas, we get to be honored.  I’m doing something different this Mother’s Day, and passing that honor onto my children, one of whom is married to a Momma, two who are Mommas themselves, and the youngest who is not yet a Momma, but is developing some mad nurturing skills of her own to be used one day in the future.  In honor of them I want to share a poem I wrote.

My children…

Oh, how we love you
Long before we’d seen your face,
 we loved you
And we prayed that God would fill you with His grace
and come along beside you
And that you’d love and follow Him.

We delight in you!
As we’ve watched you learn and grow,
our eyes were always on you
With each victory we cheer, and thank God
for His goodness to you
And the work he’s doing in you

How we pray for you
As you navigate the storms of life,
remember, we pray for you
That God would comfort, guide, protect and teach
the wonders of his goodness to you
And that you’d follow in His ways.

L. Hedges, 2010