Here I Am In Arkansas!
Jan 16th
Springdale, Arkansas. Where it is definitely warmer than Kansas. For that I’m thankful.
I’m here with Anthony (commonly and affectionately known as Fuzzy in basketball circles) and his team, the KC Truth, for the Arkansas Mustang Invitational.
We got here late this afternoon, and the boys are out scouting a couple of teams they’re going to be playing over the course of the weekend.
And I’m just taking a little break here before breaking in a bottle of wine with the other basketball mamas.
To Be Continued. . .
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Virtuous Healthy Snacks Don’t Impress Mama’s Kids
Jan 13th
Part I: Kale Chips
I’m a healthy eater. Not religiously healthy, though. I do enjoy a wide variety of food that includes some pretty rich stuff. Like Baked Brie, for intance. But I’m always on the look-out for good healthy snacks to offset my indulgences.
I recently discovered Kale Chips. I’ll credit Foodgawker for my introduction to this newly favorite treat of mine, since that’s where I first read about them. They must be pretty trendy because I keep running into recipes as I surf around on my favorite foodie blogs.
You can easily check out the link in this post and find a few recipes posted on Foodgawker.
I’ve settled on preparing them this way:
I wash and COMPLETELY dry enough kale leaves to cover a large baking sheet (about 4-5 handfuls). I use the deep green, firm leaves, tearing them into bite-sized pieces (after discarding the stem parts). Once the kale leaves are completely dry, I throw them into a gallon-sized ziploc bag. I add a couple of teaspoons of olive oil and toss the kale leaves around to coat them very lightly with the oil (sometimes I’ll massage them a little bit to make sure the oil is evenly spread). Then I spread the leaves on the baking sheet, and sprinkle them lightly with salt. Sometimes I also sprinkle a little garlic powder along with the salt.
The recipes I’ve read recommend baking the kale chips at a variety of temperatures, ranging from 35o-450 degrees. I’ve tried them at 350, 400 and 425 degrees, and I’ve settled on 350 degrees at approximately 15 minutes. They object is for the kale chips to come out very crispy, and that depends on how much oil is on the leaves. So I’d recommend checking on the chips once they’ve been in the oven for about 12-13 minutes. If they aren’t done at that point (and they usually aren’t for me), just keep checking every minute or so until they’re nice and crisp, but not brown.
The first time I made these, I enjoyed them with a nice glass of chardonnay. My curious family gathered around to see what I was eating.
“What IS that, Mom?”
“Is that spinach?”
“Are you gonna eat that?”
I explained the kale chip concept to the kids, and popped one in my mouth. “Delicious!” I exclaimed. “Wanna try one?”
Blank stares.
“Can you give us some money for Taco Bell?”
Well, at least I didn’t have to share.
Part II: Virtuous Healthy Drink Horrifies Anthony
I was paging through a food magazine the other day when I came across an article about juicing fruits and vegetables. It put me in mind of V-8 juice, which I like. I decided I need more of it in my life.
So I ran out to the store and got some V-8 juice yesterday, and decided to doctor it up by way of the juicer. I poured a 5.5 ounce can of the veggie juice into the juicer, and added a few small slices of celery and green pepper, and just the tip of a jalapeno pepper. I sprinkled in some salt, pepper and garlic powder, powered on, and created what I thought was a pretty darn good healthy drink.
About the time I was pouring my drink into a glass, Anthony walked up to the kitchen island to work on his science homework. He noticed my drink.
“What’s that?”
“Vegetable juice.” I took a drink. Yum.
“Whoa! Did you just drink that?”
“Yeah. Why?”
“I thought that was to go in soup.” He was looking at me a little mistrustfully.
“No. I just told you it was juice.”
“Why would you want to drink vegetables, Mom? You can just eat em.”
I took another drink. A long one. “Want to try it?” I offered.
“Okay. No. Gross. Don’t do that anymore, please.” He was clearly rattled.
“Fine. I’ll leave you alone with your homework, and just go enjoy my drink by myself.”
“Dad’s not gonna want to kiss you if you keep drinking that.”
“I wouldn’t bet on that, buddy.”
At that point, I hustled off to the shower to get ready for Snacky’s basketball game. I took my virtuous healthy drink with me to sip on while I got ready.
When I emerged from my room with the empty glass in my hand, I could feel Anthony looking at me out of the corners of his eyes.
“What?”
“Did you really drink that whole thing?”
“Of course.”
“Are you gonna brush your teeth before we leave?’
Wow.
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Congratulations KC Truth 2015
Jan 13th
There’s nothing a mama loves more than bragging on her babies, right?
The KC Truth 2015 took the Jayhawk Classic by storm, winning the 2014 (8th Grade Division) of this year’s Jayhawk Classic. Read about it on www.kctruthbasketball.com.
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Oh Those Crazy Kids. . .
Jan 8th
So Sebastian and I made it safely to the gym. On the way home, I sent him into the grocery store to get supplies so I could make National Championship Chili and Queso. I generously offered to wait in the car and keep it warm for him.
He was so grateful.
While waiting in the cozy warmth of my car, I decided to check in with Anthony, who was still at his buddy’s house.
The voice that answered his phone was way too deep to be Anthony’s.
“Not Anthony, right?”
“Hi, it’s Kyle. Anthony’s outside,” said Anthony’s friend’s older brother’s friend. “Playing football.”
At the time, it was a whopping 12 degrees. But only on the thermometer. In reality, the windchill factor dropped that number at least that far below 0 degrees. Not to mention a nice deep layer of snow on the ground.
“You’re kidding me.” I could only hope.
“Haha. No. They’re really out there.”
What idiots.
“Well, if his fingers are still working when he gets back in, have him call me.”
“Okay. See ya.”
Oh, to be young. Impervious not only to the effects of windchill, but to the concerns of your mama, as well!
(You will all be relieved to learn that the little darlings made it inside after the game with blood still flowing in all extremities.)
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Really? More Snow??
Jan 7th
2010 is quickly becoming very monotonous.
All snow, all the time.
We just had all the roads, driveways and pathways cleared after the holiday (as yet unmelted) snow, when we got 5 more inches dumped on us throughout the afternoon and evening yesterday.
The kids had been back in school a mere 2 days, and now school is cancelled for today. We got the news yesterday evening, and, of course, Anthony immediately had plans with his crew for a celebratory overnighter. Of course, I delegated the drive through the snow to deliver him to his friend’s house to none other than the hubby.
Sebastian, Snacky and I stayed in (not like we had a choice) and watched the KU men barely beat a tough Cornell team last night (thank you, Sherron Collins, for a seriously POY, game-saving performance !), and marvelled that the Fieldhouse was packed even in the midst of our mini-blizzard. In attendance at the game was none other than daughter Quent, who’s been pushing the mini-van around town like a tank. Because a little (or a lot) of snow isn’t going to stop her from doing exactly what she wants to do.
Just like her mama! Remember my resolve in digging out the day after Christmas, to get to the gym? Ditto today, folks. After all, the snow has stopped and the sun is out — warming us up to a balmy 7 degrees. I see no reason to sit around. And the hubby just so happens to be working at home, so guess who’s going to help? I’m sure you’re guessing correctly.
In fact, he’s out there shovelling as I write. Guess I better go help?
To Be Continued. . .
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The Perfect Roast Chicken
Dec 31st
If I do say so myself. . . you should really try this.
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Digging Out
Dec 26th
Yeah, the snowed in Christmas thing was okay. . . sort of. Yesterday.
But not today.
I woke up this morning and looked out the front window. The city crews had either forgotten about our street, or we were waaaaay down on the list. . . like last.
Yet, the postponed Christmas dinner was on. And the gym was open. Because, of course, all the other streets in town had been cleared.
My plan fior the day was simple: get to the gym and work out hard, then go to Mom and Dad’s house and eat an embarrassingly large helping of prime rib and yorkshire pudding (soaked in gravy).
And there was no way a two-foot deep blanket of snow covering the driveway and street was going to stop me.
I informed the hubby of my plans. He suggested that we wait a little while to see if the street crews showed up. I told him, gently, that that was not an option. I explained that the snowbound phase was over, whether Mother Nature liked it or not. And that I wasn’t going to be bound by the street crew schedule, either.
He sighed.
I stomped back into the closet and put on my shovelling clothes. Actually, I had to decide on some shovelling clothes, since I’ve haven’t shovelled snow since I’ve been married. Over a layer of workout spandex, I tossed on sweats and sweatshirt. Then I broke out my old Dexter hiking boots that I’ve had since high school. They’re in great shape! Probably because I never go hiking, and I rarely shovel snow. I then donned my winter coat and my cute red, black and white stripped hat with the little puff ball on top. Anyway. When I emerged from my bedroom, hilarity ensued:
“You look ridiculous, Mom,” said Snacky.
Anthony was too busy laughing to comment.
“Whatever,” I told them, “we’ll see who laughs last.” I was pretty sure it wouldn’t be me, though.
“I’ll be out soon, Honey,” said the hubby, as I stomped out the door.
I surveyed the driveway and the street in front of our house. There was no way around the fact that the entire driveway needed to be cleared. Not too mention enough of the street so that our car could get some traction and crawl on out of the neighborhood. A lesser woman would have been intimidated by the job at hand.
Thankfully, I was not alone in my labors. Our dog Princess loyally volunteered to come out with me. Not that she was much help. But she’s pretty darn cute, so she gets extra credit just for hanging out with me.
I had half of the driveway done when the hubby came out. He prides himself on being an expert at shovelling snow, and got right down to business. Not too long after that, Snacky came out. He gave me a little break. And I do mean little. He moved about 10 shovels full of snow and then claimed HE needed a break. Then out came Anthony. He really got after that snow. I told Snacky he should be embarrassed that his little brother was working harder than he was.
Snacky was not at all embarrassed. Snacky prides himself on not unnecessarily breaking a sweat. He takes energy conservation to new levels.
Anyway…
We got the driveway and the street in front of our house cleared. After an two hours.
Mere mortals would consider that their workout for the day. But the stairmaster was calling.
We all got our workout stuff on and got ready to go to the gym. Workout for me, hoops for hubby and the boys. We saddled up and hopped in the car, opened the garage door and peeled out of the driveway, hoping for enough momentum to launch us into the tire track trail (generously left by the people in big trucks that you can actually drive in this weather) leading out of our neighborhood.
Not so easy, of course. Another half-hour of the hubby launching the car back and forth, alternating with bouts of the hubby shovelling more snow out of strategic spots (which I helpfully pointed out for him), ensued before we finally managed to manuever the car into position and crawl down the block and out of the neighborhood. As we squirted out of our block and onto the (of course) cleared cross street, we were all ridiculously happy about our new-found freedom from the confines of our block!
The rest is history. I got a great (second) workout in. We made it to my parents’ for a great dinner (thanks Mom and Dad!). And when we got home, the hubby and I broke out the heating pad and massage pillow to soothe our aching bodies!
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Midnight Munchies
Dec 26th
What does a just-turned teenager eat late at night, after a long day working out on the XBox 360 and the Wii?
Well, tonight it was the following:
1) A BLH (Bacon, Lettuce and Ham) Sandwich, followed by 2) a slice of mama’s pumpkin pie, and topped off with 3) a bowl of chocolate caramel popcorn, washed down by 4) a glass of cranberry juice.
He must be growing, right?
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Mama’s White Christmas
Dec 25th
What better day to renew my blogging life than a snowed in Christmas Day?
The roads are deep in snow, and the only people I see out there are in really big trucks (and one Subaru). So we’ve postponed Christmas dinner at my parents’ house until tomorrow night. With only light continued snow flurries expected we can presume that, by then, the city will have cleared roads sufficiently for us to creep around a little. Hope so. I can only stay housebound for so long before the family starts paying for it.
Plus, I will absolutely need to get to the gym by tomorrow to resume my workout routine. I’ve had two days off for the holiday, and have exercised absolutely NO RESTRAINT around any food.
So what are we doing today? Everyone has his or her own little project going on.
Quent is furiously studying post-holiday sales online. In true college-student fashion, she requested cold, hard cash for Christmas. Now she’s figuring out how to get the most fashion bang for her new bucks. She and her friends will be heading for the mall as soon as the roads are drivable.
Anthony is working out his new Wii.
Snacks is working out his new ITouch.
The hubby is holding down his favorite living room chair, eating and watching some fairly boring NBA games.
Me? Other than renewing my blogging career, I’m spending time in the kitchen. Cause I do love to cook. I’ve baked the pies for tomorrow’s family holiday dinner at mom and dad’s. So I got a head start on that part of the game, anyway. Plus I’m baking an extra pumpkin pie for tonight (can’t make my babies wait until tomorrow for pumpkin pie, can I?) FYI, because I know you are absolutely dying to know, I use the recipe on the back of the Libby’s Pumpkin can for my pumpkin pies, because I haven’t found anything better yet and it’s SO easy. Today, I used the leftover (homemade, of course) dough — from the best pie crust recipe ever — to make little miniature cinnamon sugar roll-ups for one of the boys’ many afternoon snacks.
Cinnamon Sugar Roll-Ups
1) Roll leftover pie dough flat.
2) Sprinkle dough with sugar and cinnamon, to your taste.
3) Cut dough into strips and roll into spirals.
4) Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until flaky.
Given the fact that I’m newly responsible for my family’s Christmas dinner tonight, I’ve been working on that, too. I found a package of beef stew meat in the freezer, and I did the quick defrost. Then I built a nice tomato sauce around the meat and I’ve left it to simmer until the meat is nice and tender. To be served with spaghetti, of course. And a green salad, with a simple homemade vinaigrette.
Today’s Meat Sauce
Spray the bottom of a cookpot with Pam, or coat lightly with olive oil. Saute 1 pound beef stew meat, 1 finely chopped onion and 6 finely chopped garlic cloves until the meat is browned and the veggies are tender. Just stir from time to time and pay attention — it doesn’t take that long.
Once the meat is browned and the veggies are tender add dried oregano (to your taste, but I used about two teaspoonsful); a generous pinch of red pepper flakes; and salt and pepper (again, to your taste, and I tend to be pretty liberal with the salt and pepper).
Next add one 14.5 ounce can of tomato sauce and 2 14.5 ounce cans of crushed tomatoes.
Let the mixture simmer on low heat until the cows come home — or until the stew meat is really nice and tender. About 2-3 hours, depending on the size of your meat chunks. Just keep testing the meat for tenderness after it’s been cooking for a while. Remember to keep the heat low so the sauce doesn’t scald.
Homemade Vinaigrette
3/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup white or red wine vinegar
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
pinch sugar
Plus add chopped scallions or garlic, if you like — I added the scallions today.
Throw all ingredients in a small jar and shake well. Use any amount desired on your salad.
So as I’ve spent my afternoon updating my blogs and baking and cooking, the day has faded and evening is here. But the natives are restless (especially me), and I still haven’t seen the street crews out front. A light snow continues to fall, but it’s nothing like last night’s deluge of white stuff. So we’ll hunker down tonight, and hope we can get out and slog around tomorrow.
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Mama’s Back With a Vengeance
Sep 18th
And where’s she been?
Doin’ life.
But ignoring her loyal readers — for shame — sorry Mom and Dad!
No more.
To blog is to be.
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