The Price of Produce

It was a rough day. Nothing in particular made it rough, just one of those "the cards are stacked, and you're gonna lose" kind of days. I woke up grumpy, and that factor alone would be survivable. However, my children also woke up grumpy. Need I say more? Our day was filled with very sweet moments, followed (and outnumbered) by screaming and chasing one another around the house. I have yet to understand why, for 364 days of the year, my daughter (I will not say which daughter) is content with the blue-eyed baby doll, but one day she decides the doll with the green-eyes is her destiny, and she will do everything in her power to win THAT baby doll. This pretty much sums up how the rough day began. Over a baby doll. And I should mention the fact that we have many, very cute, baby dolls in our house, but only one of THAT baby doll.

Anyway, I know you all have days like this. We are human, and in God's design; we are far from perfect! Whether it's stress caused by a tender-hearted and slightly stubborn child, ourselves, a spouse, co-worker, relative, boss; I think we all have a way of re-energizing, and sorting through it all. I used to think I was an emotional eater, but I have decided I am an Emotional Cooker! Justin came home from work, and I took off for a trip to the grocery store. I usually dread the grocery shopping, but I needed a break, and well...we needed toilet paper. I left the store feeling energized and excited to prepare a meal. I returned home to two beaming little girls, happy sounds, and a tired husband.

As I cooked dinner, I found myself enjoying every single task. Cooking wasn't a chore. Dare I say it? It was actually therapeutic! Chopping, washing, separating, peeling, boiling, baking...everything! This is when is occurred to me; I don't always eat the meals I prepare. I get tired of smelling, or seeing, the food cook. Often times I don't even enjoy eating my own cooking (and I'd like to think it tastes fine). I know, it's weird, but I chalk it up to overexposure while cooking.

After a rough day, we all settled around the dining room table together, and enjoyed our dinner. There was laughter, conversation, and happy people. I do love being in the kitchen, and from now on, I will bask in the quiet, satisfied sounds of my family enjoying dinner together. A dinner I took every pleasure in preparing.

Because the quality of produce is hit-and-miss and the prices are always sky-high, I have started making my own applesauce. Our family (especially our girls) love apples, and I refuse to pay the grocery store price for a jar of applesauce. I don't really think I'm that frugal, but I did the math, and I can make ginormous batches of applesauce at home for a fraction of the cost of the store stuff. My applesauce is healthier, and quite frankly, a lot better tasting than the expensive jars! I wanted to share the recipe I use for applesauce because it freezes really well, and is quick to make. I make a batch whenever I see apples on sale.

Sarah's Applesauce (from Allrecipes.com)
Ingredients:

4 apples - peeled, cored and chopped 3/4 cup water

1/4 cup white sugar 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions:

1.	In a saucepan, combine apples, water, sugar, and cinnamon. Cover, and cook over medium heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until apples are soft. Allow to cool, then mash with a fork or potato masher.

Also, do you remember when I said I am an Emotional Cooker? Cooking makes me happy, and eases stress? Well, that's all true, but I would like to add consuming apples to that list. I love apples, and nothing tastes more comforting. I try to eat most of my apples raw instead of cooked because of health reasons, but let's face it, an apple pie is an apple pie!

I will end this post now. I have a serving of warm apple crisp waiting to give me a food-hug.

Coffee Cups and Casserole Dishes

January made its brisk arrival, and with it many inches of snow and a new year. Our meal swap meeting this month was held at our local coffee shop, Mochavino. We all gathered around a functionally small table to converse, sip coffee, and nibble toasty sandwiches. It was a wonderful way to salute a year gone by, and celebrate this wonderful new adventure called 2011!

How to Begin a Meal Swap Group

(Beware...this post will read like an infomercial!)

Are you sick of rummaging through the recipe box, thirty minutes before meal time, looking for something to cook for dinner? Is your freezer looking rather empty? Do you enjoy trying new recipes? Looking for a reason to spend time with friends? Well....a meal swap group is for you!

Here are some guidelines our group came up with when we began our meal swap. So far, we haven't really run into any problems. One thing our group decided to do, since we are all members of the same Bible study group, is to cook an extra meal for our church. Each month, we prepare an additional dish and add it the freezer at church. When there is a need (birth, funeral, lost job) our pastor is able to go to the freezer and choose a meal for the family in need. We include reheating instructions with the meal, usually written in permanent marker on top of the foil covering, or typed, printed, and taped to the top of the casserole. It's a great way for us to contribute to our church, and the meals seem to be used rather quickly!

GUIDELINES:

*Each member will cook an entree, or main course meal, for every family in the group (including yourself).

* Each member will contribute 2 recipes they would be willing to prepare. The other members of the group will vote for their preferred recipe/meal to include in the swap (one from each person) the next month. This will be done each month through email. Feel free to "reply all" in order to vote for your recipe preference. Note: This does contribute to a lot of emailing, but it works very effectively. We always include the main ingredients when emailing our recipe choices, so other members of the group know what's in our meal when they vote.

* Each meal/entree should include pork, chicken or beef (no raw meats, unless packaged separately), and be enough to serve 6 people. Note: Our group decided to avoid seafood, venison, etc. because we are all mothers, and children are picky eaters!

* Each meal/entree should be ready to be cooked/reheated in oven or added to a crock-pot. Easy prep is preferred! :)

* Reheating instructions should be written on the foil covering (or ziplock bag) for each meal, or can be written/typed and given to each meal swap member. Note: We also share the recipe for the meal we are swapping, and either submit it to be published on this blog, or bring a copy to the meeting.

* Please let the meal swap group know about food allergies in your family. For instance, my daughter has a peanut allergy, so our meals can't have peanuts or peanut products in them. However, this simply means eliminating peanuts from the meal we receive, and labeling it as "no peanuts". It would be too difficult, and expensive, to use substitute ingredients, so we plan to just leave the allergy-causing ingredient out of the meal when necessary.

* If you can't attend the swap meeting, you will need to have your meals prepared ahead of time, and make arrangements with the group coordinator(s) to have the meals delivered or picked up at a convenient time.

*Everything for the entrees will need to be included. We don't want to send anyone on a last minute run to the grocery store. :) This means if the recipe you are preparing needs rice or pasta to complete the meal, then you should include the measured servings of rice or pasta with each meal. Either par-cooked, or raw.

* Our "meetings" aren't really intended to be "meetings". We want to have fun with friends, and exchange delicious meals! We plan different ideas for each meeting (dessert & coffee, a movie, garden tea party, fondue party, or simply meeting in someone's living room and chatting...ANYTHING!)

I hope you find this list of guidelines helpful, and I wish you the best of luck with your new meal swap group!

Christmas Cookie Swap!

What: December Meal Swap
When: Wednesday, December 15th at 6:30 pm
Where: LHWC
Who: Nine fabulous women...you know who you are!

Please bring 6 cookies to swap per person (so...4 1/2 dozen if you are including yourself). They can be any cookie you enjoy baking for Christmas. Bring your cookies in a large container, and we will divide them up once we are all together.
Make sure you have a container to bring your cookies home in, and also, please bring one copy of your recipe. We'll put them on the table for everyone to check out. Be sure to bring paper and a pen if you want to copy someone's recipe. :)

If you have the time, and want to...feel free to bring a snack to share during the cookie swap. I will provide drinks, plates, cups, utensils. We'll visit, swap cookies, and celebrate the season!

Don't forget...comment on this post with the type of cookie you are baking so we don't have duplicates. Thanks everyone, and I am very much looking forward to next Wednesday!

A House to Warm...

The November Meal Swap brought us to Dana's beautiful new home!

Our group decided to throw a surprise housewarming party for Dana, and we chose the theme 'Warming the House'. Everyone brought creative gifts: warm food, warm scents, warm towels, warm decorations. It was a great party, and neat to see the useful, yet fun gifts. The women in the group, as always, made
delicious food to share, too.

Friends, snacks, celebrating, gifts, laughter, fun (and a freezer full of yummy meals)...a perfect way to "warm" a home. Thanks for hosting Dana!

"By home, we mean a place in which the mind can settle...a refuge to which we flee in the expectation of finding those calm pleasures, those soothing kindnesses, which are the sweetness of life." ~ James Bean

A Wedding Reception at the Meal Swap!

Want to know what inspired me to finish my wedding album? It wasn't the beautiful, half-filled, satin scrapbook sitting on my desk (for years), the disorganized shoebox of honeymoon/wedding photos, or the constant sticky note reminding me to "finish wedding album".

That very needed inspiration came from a group of wonderful friends! Our Meal Swap group decided to share photos and stories from the most important day a girl can have...her wedding day!

My husband, of nearly ten years, isn't the kind of guy who begs to browse through my scrapbooks, or comments on the glittery wedding bells decorating each page. Nope.
It's not that he doesn't think of our special day, or remember the details, it's just that my book of memories isn't something he requires. However, my mind works differently. I need to see the photos of my mom fixing that stubborn strand of hair escaping my veil, the rosy cheeked groomsmen sweating profusely in the three-digit heat, and the evening sun shining through stained glass windows. Those are details my mind won't let me see without the help of our photos.

Knowing the meal-swap night was approaching, I completed my wedding album and enjoyed reliving each moment of our wedding day as I pasted photos and wrote captions. I grew so ambitious, I actually completed our honeymoon album too! It was fun, and now I feel a little relieved. Almost like my mind can relax a little; I have photos and written stories now to help with forgotten details.
I can't tell you how happy it made me to see my husband smiling and laughing as he retold our wedding stories to our daughter as she browsed the pages of my completed album. Priceless.

The night of the mealswap brought that same wonderful feeling...seeing a roomful of friends laughing and smiling as we exchanged albums and told stories about our wedding day/honeymoon. I learned so much about the women sitting at the dining room table that night. Personally, it made me feel like I was a part of their wedding day; a behind-the-scenes guest at their special event. I now know stories about the groomsman's toast to the new couple, the special flower choices in the bride's bouquet, the small hometown church in which the ceremony took place, and the moment that started it all....the proposal.

Oh, and I can't end this post without mentioning the most delicious part of the evening...wedding reception food! An absolutely delicious wedding cake, complete with cake topper (thanks Susan!), a perfect wedding punch, nuts, and cream cheese mints in festive colors.
Reception treats are something we don't get a chance to enjoy very often, and definitely set the theme for our wedding-album meal swap!

Cupcakes, Pajamas, and Nail Polish.

Our Meal Swap group has been experimenting with different themes for our meets. This month was a salute to our childhood days of pajama parties! Who doesn't love dressing comfortably, eating polka-dot cupcakes, and playing with fingernail polish? This girl does!
Sometimes life has a way of being too grown-up, serious, and busy. I can't remember the last time I actually painted my toenails!

As a result of this wonderful evening, I found it impossible to think about anything but friends, conversation, and laughter. The to-do list and stresses that normally occupy my brain-space were temporarily evicted!



I will speak for myself because I know many of my friends are already much better at this than me, but, I think this pajama party was more than a really fun evening. It was a reminder to the 'grown-up me' to appreciate the little things. It was a way to learn more about the women in my life and their own struggles and joys.

This pajama party experience makes me wonder what kinds of world issues could be solved with snacks, cute pajamas, and a few bottles of vividly colored nail polish. Ok, while that might be a stretch, you have to admit, it's fun to imagine our world leaders having a big pajama party at a UN meeting...