I've always loved the concept of freezer cooking / OAMC / whatever you want to call it. I think I was a pioneer wife in a former life. It's been great for when a baby was on the way, or to prepare for those nights when I'm just too lazy (or busy) to be bothered. Now I'm about to start work again for the first time since Nate was born and I think it will be especially important!
I applied for, and got, a position at the Embassy called Secretary Rover - I fill in when people are out on vacation, sick, maternity leave, or when a position hasn't been filled but they still need help. It's on an "as needed" basis, and it looks like right now they really need help in a few departments! The sense I got was that I'd be working full-time for at least a month, I should get some more information about it this week. I start on November 6th, and of course the kids both are out of school that WHOLE week. Ack!
Between friends and our housekeeper, I think the boys will be fine. I plan to spend this next week cooking and freezing as much as I can to make sure we can still eat well, if a little simpler than usual, on those busy nights. I don't want to spend the time I do get with the kids worrying too much about food.
So I made up a meal-plan for this coming week with all freezer-friendly foods, and as I cook for each night this week I will double, triple, or quadruple (or more!) the recipes and freeze. It is harder to find vegan options that freeze well as compared to an omnivore diet (so jealous of meat and cheese which freeze so beautifully!) but it still can be done. Here's what I plan to make this week:
* Sweet and Sour Lentils
* Vegan sausages
* Peanut sauce (to put over noodles)
* Sweet Potato Burritos (without the cheese) - these freeze wonderfully!
* Veggie chili
* Pasta/tomato sauce
* Black bean burgers
* Dal Makhni
* Falafel patties
* Granola for breakfasts and snacks
It's a pretty heavy list, I'm not sure if I'll finish it all, but I'm going to give it my best shot. I'll try to blog what I can so stay tuned!
Sunday, October 28, 2012
Funny boy
Nate rarely comes to me with a medical complaint, but when he does it's more convoluted than you'd expect a medical complaint from a 6-now-7 year-old. Yesterday he complained that "Mom, it feels like I don't have water and I have too much water at the same time." Okay, good, sure, I'm on it. Nine questions later, and I think he had a sore throat. I'm still not entirely sure.
The other general complaint is "I feel weird" and "My head feels huge."
Funny child.
The other general complaint is "I feel weird" and "My head feels huge."
Funny child.
Wednesday, October 24, 2012
What do you eat? Vegan pesto edition!
I've been meaning to try making my own pesto ever since I tried LeGrand's vegan pesto at one of those sample booths at Whole Foods. I didn't even realize it was vegan when I first tried it; all I knew is that I wasn't overloaded with cheese and that it was bright and tasty.
My first try today wasn't excellent. It was good, and since the flavors are so simple it was easy for me to get close, but it still needs work. I made it a bit too salty, and even at its teeny amount the parsley was just too much for me (I am not a parsley fan). Here's what I did today: 2/3 cup cashews, soaked for an hour 2.5 ounces basil .25 ounces parsley 3 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt If anyone tries and comes up with a tweak to smooth out the flavors a bit, please share it back with me! I turned this into a pesto pasta salad: whole wheat rotini, chopped up bell peppers, broccoli (I softened up the broccoli by throwing it into the boiling pasta water about 5 minutes before I drained the pasta). Cooled the pasta down, added in the veggies and pesto, and served!
Everyone ate it without comment, even though it was the first time they'd had pesto before. Both kids had two bowls, and there's enough for Stewart's lunch tomorrow. I'll keep experimenting with this one since herbs are so cheap here (the basil cost me about $2)! Yay Panama!
My first try today wasn't excellent. It was good, and since the flavors are so simple it was easy for me to get close, but it still needs work. I made it a bit too salty, and even at its teeny amount the parsley was just too much for me (I am not a parsley fan). Here's what I did today: 2/3 cup cashews, soaked for an hour 2.5 ounces basil .25 ounces parsley 3 tbsp olive oil 2 tbsp lemon juice 1 tsp salt If anyone tries and comes up with a tweak to smooth out the flavors a bit, please share it back with me! I turned this into a pesto pasta salad: whole wheat rotini, chopped up bell peppers, broccoli (I softened up the broccoli by throwing it into the boiling pasta water about 5 minutes before I drained the pasta). Cooled the pasta down, added in the veggies and pesto, and served!
Everyone ate it without comment, even though it was the first time they'd had pesto before. Both kids had two bowls, and there's enough for Stewart's lunch tomorrow. I'll keep experimenting with this one since herbs are so cheap here (the basil cost me about $2)! Yay Panama!
Monday, October 22, 2012
What do you eat? Greek salad edition!
I'm generally a follow-the-recipe kind of cook. Unlike my friend Dave, if I start throwing ingredients around, nothing good comes from it. So I stick to a script and everybody gets out alive. I made a minor tweak to a recipe today and it was a big success (in my humble opinion!) so I'm excited to write about it.
Tonight we had vegan greek salad: cucumbers (de-seeded, skin on), bell peppers, and tomatoes (de-seeded) all chopped into bite-size pieces (I like to be able to eat a salad with a spoon. Odd, I know. It does make it easy for the kids to eat, so there's that.) I like this kind of recipe because you can always add in whatever you like; tonight I added half a can of corn and some small-chopped romaine that were on their way out of this life. Traditional? No. Yummy? Yes.
I googled around for a greek salad dressing and found this one at All Recipes. Looked good, reviews were good. I made it as printed (scaled to 8 servings which I think the link will do for you), except for substituting an "all flavor" kind of herb for the onion powder (didn't have any), using 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, and adding 1 tbsp lemon juice from the jar. So the big tweak? I soaked about 1/3 cup of cashews for an hour or so before making the dressing, and threw those in the blender with the other ingredients. It came out creamy, thick, tangy, and delicious. I dressed it about a half hour before diner. It got pretty watered down once it was on the food, despite all the de-seeding, so I'd use it right before eating. still tasted good!
Served with bread and "butter" (Earth Balance). You can see Jack's dinner priorities in this pic:
In non-food news, I found out that I got my provisional Top Secret security clearance which means that I can work (secretary rover) whenever they have need of me. I'm up for a proper part-time position; pitted against my across-the-street neighbor Stacey. That's not uncomfortable at all. Ugh. Hopefully we'll hear who got it in a week or two. The boys are happy at school, our maid is great, and I'm busy planning Jack's birthday and Halloween and Thanksgiving and Chanukah! We're doing great on our budget and haven't eaten dinner out even once this month. Very pleased! Tomorrow night...falafel? We'll see!
Tonight we had vegan greek salad: cucumbers (de-seeded, skin on), bell peppers, and tomatoes (de-seeded) all chopped into bite-size pieces (I like to be able to eat a salad with a spoon. Odd, I know. It does make it easy for the kids to eat, so there's that.) I like this kind of recipe because you can always add in whatever you like; tonight I added half a can of corn and some small-chopped romaine that were on their way out of this life. Traditional? No. Yummy? Yes.
I googled around for a greek salad dressing and found this one at All Recipes. Looked good, reviews were good. I made it as printed (scaled to 8 servings which I think the link will do for you), except for substituting an "all flavor" kind of herb for the onion powder (didn't have any), using 1/3 cup red wine vinegar, and adding 1 tbsp lemon juice from the jar. So the big tweak? I soaked about 1/3 cup of cashews for an hour or so before making the dressing, and threw those in the blender with the other ingredients. It came out creamy, thick, tangy, and delicious. I dressed it about a half hour before diner. It got pretty watered down once it was on the food, despite all the de-seeding, so I'd use it right before eating. still tasted good!
Served with bread and "butter" (Earth Balance). You can see Jack's dinner priorities in this pic:
In non-food news, I found out that I got my provisional Top Secret security clearance which means that I can work (secretary rover) whenever they have need of me. I'm up for a proper part-time position; pitted against my across-the-street neighbor Stacey. That's not uncomfortable at all. Ugh. Hopefully we'll hear who got it in a week or two. The boys are happy at school, our maid is great, and I'm busy planning Jack's birthday and Halloween and Thanksgiving and Chanukah! We're doing great on our budget and haven't eaten dinner out even once this month. Very pleased! Tomorrow night...falafel? We'll see!
Thursday, October 18, 2012
What do you eat? Vegan sausage edition!
I have this thing about fake-meat; I love it, but I don't mistake it for meat. Nothing tastes like a steak except for steak. No veggie burger on earth will taste like a real burger. Enjoy fake meat for itself, not because it will remind you of any meat you've ever tasted. And I do enjoy veggie burgers, vegan sausages, all of that stuff - I enjoy them a bunch. But they're pricey and loaded with fakey-stuff, and pretty hard to find here in Panama (and costly when you do).
Before we moved down here, I made a list of projects I've been dying to work on but haven't really had quite enough time to sink my teeth into. Making my own seitan was one of them and I think I've made a good start. Stewart says this is now his favorite dinner, and the boys and I enjoy it a bunch as well. It freezes beautifully so I'm able to pull these sausages out of the freezer for an easy fun dinner. The only thing I haven't tried is grilling them; I'm keeping some in the freezer now for the next time someone has a barbecue on Friday night.
This recipe is taken from Vegan Dad's version of Isa's vegan sausages. I followed it almost exactly; my only changes are to use half the amount of pepper (it still had good heat for us with half), no paprika, and a bit less nutritional yeast than called for (it was too noochy the first time I made it).
This recipe is really easy and takes only a few minutes of prep. The ingredients are simple, and it takes very little TLC. Definitely worth trying. See Vegan Dad's site for ingredients and instructions. Here's how I do it (I double the recipe and make 12 big sausages:)
Whir the fennel seeds in the food processor to break them down, then add some of the veggie broth (out of 2 cups total) and all of the beans to get them nice and smooth.
While they're whirring, add the spices and the nooch and the rest of the ingredients to a bowl EXCEPT for the wheat gluten. Hold that back.
Add the bean mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Add the wheat gluten and mix immediately. It will turn into a floppy dough.
I usually separate into 12 even chunks but next time I'm going to try 16 slightly smaller ones. Anyway, use a knife to cut into even pieces. Form each piece gently into a sausage shape and roll up like a tootsie roll in some tin foil.
Steam for 45 minutes until they're spongey but firm. They should hold their shape when you poke them.
You can eat them as is, but they taste especially fabulous fried in a TINY bit of oil in a pan. The sides crisp up and they're really great. Today I served with rosemary roasted potatoes; Saturday I will serve with the traditional classy crinkle cut french fry.
Yum. Very curious what my omni family will say about this one when they come down for Thanksgiving. Jason, you're my official test subject. Get ready!
Before we moved down here, I made a list of projects I've been dying to work on but haven't really had quite enough time to sink my teeth into. Making my own seitan was one of them and I think I've made a good start. Stewart says this is now his favorite dinner, and the boys and I enjoy it a bunch as well. It freezes beautifully so I'm able to pull these sausages out of the freezer for an easy fun dinner. The only thing I haven't tried is grilling them; I'm keeping some in the freezer now for the next time someone has a barbecue on Friday night.
This recipe is taken from Vegan Dad's version of Isa's vegan sausages. I followed it almost exactly; my only changes are to use half the amount of pepper (it still had good heat for us with half), no paprika, and a bit less nutritional yeast than called for (it was too noochy the first time I made it).
This recipe is really easy and takes only a few minutes of prep. The ingredients are simple, and it takes very little TLC. Definitely worth trying. See Vegan Dad's site for ingredients and instructions. Here's how I do it (I double the recipe and make 12 big sausages:)
Whir the fennel seeds in the food processor to break them down, then add some of the veggie broth (out of 2 cups total) and all of the beans to get them nice and smooth.
While they're whirring, add the spices and the nooch and the rest of the ingredients to a bowl EXCEPT for the wheat gluten. Hold that back.
Add the bean mixture to the bowl and stir to combine. Add the wheat gluten and mix immediately. It will turn into a floppy dough.
I usually separate into 12 even chunks but next time I'm going to try 16 slightly smaller ones. Anyway, use a knife to cut into even pieces. Form each piece gently into a sausage shape and roll up like a tootsie roll in some tin foil.
Steam for 45 minutes until they're spongey but firm. They should hold their shape when you poke them.
You can eat them as is, but they taste especially fabulous fried in a TINY bit of oil in a pan. The sides crisp up and they're really great. Today I served with rosemary roasted potatoes; Saturday I will serve with the traditional classy crinkle cut french fry.
Yum. Very curious what my omni family will say about this one when they come down for Thanksgiving. Jason, you're my official test subject. Get ready!
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Two amazing boys
I need to write about the last 24 hours for us, and how my boys shine all the time but especialy when the chips are down.
Jack had a light fever, and a tummy-ache, off and on since Friday. Nothing serious. He also has a tiny patch of staph or some other skin infection on his butt and we've been treating that with topical antibiotics. Yesterday, though, after a rare nap, he woke up crying, burning-up, with a horrible headache. I grabbed Motrin, Jack, my purse, and drove straight to the Embassy doctor. We ended up going directly from there to the hospital at my insistence. The combination of the staph on his butt and now a fever with bad headache; I wasn't taking any chances. While we were at the Embassy Jack managed to throw up all over both of us, so we headed to the hospital in funky style.
The Motrin I'd been able to get down on the way to the embassy calmed him down a bit; he lay listlessly in my arms all the way through downtown to the Hospital Nacional. They treated us very nicely and explained that they wanted to do an IV to give him fever meds. I broke the news to Jack who is not a fan of shots, and tends to worry about them even when we're at home, randomly asking "I don't need any shots today right Mama?"
When I told him he was going to have one big shot that would stay in his hand, he started sobbing. I think it hurt me worse than it hurt him. I told him that it would hurt, and that stinks, but that it would mean no more shots all day. That I'd never lie to him and that we'd be right there with him. While we waited, he would work himself up to crying, and I'd talk about how it would hurt but not for too long, then I'd distract him and the cycle repeated 3 or 4 times. Finally it was time for the big IV.
Jack was laying on his side, I stood in front of him, Stewart behind. I was determined to keep him from moving to make sure they didn't have to do it 2 or 3 times. We cradled him hard against the table, and the tech talked to Jack about not moving his hand. It was the only part of him that we couldn't hold still; Jack would have to do that part himself. The tech got ready to go, and I looked down to see my four year old baby start taking deep breaths. Deep breaths. He was steadying himself. I still barely believe it. And then it was in, and Jack hadn't made a peep. I didn't know it was done until Stewart said "great job!" Jack never cried, never yelled, never whined. He steadied himself and faced it down like a gosh-darn stud. That boy is something...someone I could never have anticipated. I'm in awe of my kid.
The medicine flowed, order was restored, and Jack got a little loopy and giggly. We were together for hours, holding hands, joking around, whispering about plans for a big trip to Africa on his 21st birthday. He is the steadiest, most contented, enthusiastic, hard-working, sweet, funny, sassy child in the world.
And where was Nate in all of this? I had no way to get word to him, so Celia met his bus and found a home for him across the street with Stacey. He didn't know we wouldn't be home until after 9, so he just went with the flow and let them give him dinner (which he didn't eat because he was confused), get him in pjs, teeth brushed. I picked him up, brought him home, and all 3 of us got in my big hot-tub-bathtub and soaked the day off. And the puke in my hair, we definitely soaked that off too. It was heavenly.
Kids to bed, and then I decided Jack probably had meningitis and stayed up until 2 am checking him every 15 minutes and using my iPhone to scan his body for the start of a rash. At 2 I woke Stewart up, ordered him to keep doing what I was doing, and slept for a few hours next to Jack. I woke up to Nate, my pride, saying "Mom, I did as much as I could by myself, can you just do my sunscreen?" He was fully dressed in his uniform, shoes on, breakfast eaten. I did his sunscreen and literally staggered back to bed. He waited outside by himself for the bus and headed to school.
And now he has what Jack had, though we won't be heading anywhere for an IV. Jack is 100% restored. I revel in these boys. I can't get enough of watching them grow. I am grateful beyond words for both of them. Amazing life.
Jack had a light fever, and a tummy-ache, off and on since Friday. Nothing serious. He also has a tiny patch of staph or some other skin infection on his butt and we've been treating that with topical antibiotics. Yesterday, though, after a rare nap, he woke up crying, burning-up, with a horrible headache. I grabbed Motrin, Jack, my purse, and drove straight to the Embassy doctor. We ended up going directly from there to the hospital at my insistence. The combination of the staph on his butt and now a fever with bad headache; I wasn't taking any chances. While we were at the Embassy Jack managed to throw up all over both of us, so we headed to the hospital in funky style.
The Motrin I'd been able to get down on the way to the embassy calmed him down a bit; he lay listlessly in my arms all the way through downtown to the Hospital Nacional. They treated us very nicely and explained that they wanted to do an IV to give him fever meds. I broke the news to Jack who is not a fan of shots, and tends to worry about them even when we're at home, randomly asking "I don't need any shots today right Mama?"
When I told him he was going to have one big shot that would stay in his hand, he started sobbing. I think it hurt me worse than it hurt him. I told him that it would hurt, and that stinks, but that it would mean no more shots all day. That I'd never lie to him and that we'd be right there with him. While we waited, he would work himself up to crying, and I'd talk about how it would hurt but not for too long, then I'd distract him and the cycle repeated 3 or 4 times. Finally it was time for the big IV.
Jack was laying on his side, I stood in front of him, Stewart behind. I was determined to keep him from moving to make sure they didn't have to do it 2 or 3 times. We cradled him hard against the table, and the tech talked to Jack about not moving his hand. It was the only part of him that we couldn't hold still; Jack would have to do that part himself. The tech got ready to go, and I looked down to see my four year old baby start taking deep breaths. Deep breaths. He was steadying himself. I still barely believe it. And then it was in, and Jack hadn't made a peep. I didn't know it was done until Stewart said "great job!" Jack never cried, never yelled, never whined. He steadied himself and faced it down like a gosh-darn stud. That boy is something...someone I could never have anticipated. I'm in awe of my kid.
The medicine flowed, order was restored, and Jack got a little loopy and giggly. We were together for hours, holding hands, joking around, whispering about plans for a big trip to Africa on his 21st birthday. He is the steadiest, most contented, enthusiastic, hard-working, sweet, funny, sassy child in the world.
And where was Nate in all of this? I had no way to get word to him, so Celia met his bus and found a home for him across the street with Stacey. He didn't know we wouldn't be home until after 9, so he just went with the flow and let them give him dinner (which he didn't eat because he was confused), get him in pjs, teeth brushed. I picked him up, brought him home, and all 3 of us got in my big hot-tub-bathtub and soaked the day off. And the puke in my hair, we definitely soaked that off too. It was heavenly.
Kids to bed, and then I decided Jack probably had meningitis and stayed up until 2 am checking him every 15 minutes and using my iPhone to scan his body for the start of a rash. At 2 I woke Stewart up, ordered him to keep doing what I was doing, and slept for a few hours next to Jack. I woke up to Nate, my pride, saying "Mom, I did as much as I could by myself, can you just do my sunscreen?" He was fully dressed in his uniform, shoes on, breakfast eaten. I did his sunscreen and literally staggered back to bed. He waited outside by himself for the bus and headed to school.
And now he has what Jack had, though we won't be heading anywhere for an IV. Jack is 100% restored. I revel in these boys. I can't get enough of watching them grow. I am grateful beyond words for both of them. Amazing life.
What do you eat? Peanut noodle edition!
Jack was so sick yesterday and we're all recovering, so I needed something easy for dinner tonight. Grabbed some frozen peanut sauce (talked about it here) and dug some soba noodles out of the pantry. I love recipes like this which allow you to use up whatever veggies you have on-hand
Simple recipe: cook noodles, cool down with water, drizzle with sesame oil to keep from sticking, sautee veggies, add cucumber strips (optional, of course), mix in peanut sauce. Serve cool or warm, whatever you like. I used 20 ounces of soba noodles; I do find that the recipe, as written, is a little too much for a regular pound of pasta. If you use it, just pour most on the pasta and reserve a bit for use as a dip or whatever else you'd like. Nate wasn't into it tonight, but he's also clearly coming down with what Jack had (fever, headache) so I give him a pass (this is a "thumbs-medium")
Jack had toast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner so he wasn't given a vote. We had enough for 3 of us for dinner, Stewart's lunch at work, and probably mine as well. Tomorrow I plan to make something more complicated so stay tuned!
Simple recipe: cook noodles, cool down with water, drizzle with sesame oil to keep from sticking, sautee veggies, add cucumber strips (optional, of course), mix in peanut sauce. Serve cool or warm, whatever you like. I used 20 ounces of soba noodles; I do find that the recipe, as written, is a little too much for a regular pound of pasta. If you use it, just pour most on the pasta and reserve a bit for use as a dip or whatever else you'd like. Nate wasn't into it tonight, but he's also clearly coming down with what Jack had (fever, headache) so I give him a pass (this is a "thumbs-medium")
Jack had toast for breakfast, lunch, and dinner so he wasn't given a vote. We had enough for 3 of us for dinner, Stewart's lunch at work, and probably mine as well. Tomorrow I plan to make something more complicated so stay tuned!
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