Cranberry Relish and a table full of food

This is a picture of Thursday's leftovers and the food I set out for my sis who was coming in from New York on Friday. On the peninsula top from left to right: I made Bryanna's chedda' cheese (the recipe that uses tahini) with crackers spread around it, soy and seitan roulade slices, corn from our freezer (we grew), romaine salad with purple onion/ carrots/radish slices, an apple slices tray with a sweetened soy cream cheese dip, seedilicious bread slices, (foldable table): potatoes (we grew and canned these), squash/ pear/ cranberry baked dish, sun dried tomato stuffing, Dori's favorite fresh Cranberry Relish, gray bowl had pickled cauliflower/ carrots/ red peppers (we grew these and I pickled them for the county fair), and a wonderful fabulous Pumpkin Tunnel Cake from Bryanna's latest vegan feast newsletter.

DORI'S FAVORITE CRANBERRY RELISH
Place the following into the food processor and chop to the size of rice:
1 lb package fresh whole cranberries
1-2 peeled oranges, removing most of the pith
2 Tbsp orange zest (fresh if using organic oranges)
1-2 medium apple, cored
Add the following to a medium mixing bowl along with the processed mixture above:
1/2 C crushed pineapple (more if you desire or omit and add one more apple to processor in step above)
1/2 C chopped pecans or light English walnuts (I use 2 Tbsp)
1/2 tsp cinnamon (opt)

• opt 2 tsp fresh ginger minced - I use this when I can or cinnamon when I'm out

1/2 - 1 cup sweetener of your choice

• OR 1 tsp KAL brand stevia powder = 1 generous cup of sweetness*
• I use KAL brand stevia, it is not bitter like other brands I have tried. One could easily use their choice of sweetener.
  

Combine well. Allow flavors to meld one hour.

Whenever I find a great buy on cranberries I make a bunch of this up and freeze it in addition to just freezing the berries. I add it to muffins, put it in salad dressing, and directly onto the salad when I want color. I also add it to sandwiches, stir into my morning oatmeal, and top cornbread with it for an interesting change. Even after it has been frozen it has an acceptable texture. As you can tell this is my favorite. I made a variation of this last year that had cumin and jalapeno peppers in it, yet was still sweet. We place it in a tray over the top of soy cream cheese and surrounded it with crackers.











Here's a close up of the tunnel cake before I drizzled it with a thickened powdered sugar drizzle tweaked with a bit of almond extract. For the cake I adjusted the recipe and made mine sugar free. The cake batter recipe calls for 1 cup of sugar, I used 1/2 cup of applesauce to replace the bulk of the sugar and 1 tsp KAL brand stevia. The filling is made with a cashew / silken tofu blend and is also sweetened with stevia (no applesauce filler). It turned out very well.

I tried something new this year: PUMPKIN BUTTER
In the crock pot and from the book by Robin Robertson, Fresh from the Vegetarian Slow cooker. Mine is sweetened with the KAL stevia extract in place of sugar and it is fabulous! Matthew made carob chip pancakes for breakfast Thursday morning. It was my niece's birthday so we invited her up to eat breakfast with us and we used the pumpkin butter to top them with ... what a grand feast.

About eight years ago I was depressed and went through a soul searching time. Prior to this time I claimed a religion but fell prey to the Santa Claus and materialistic ways of the world. More than materialistic ways I realized that there was a lot about holidays that I didn't like, so I began to change. I am still connected to my spiritual roots, but I realized that I wanted the holidays to express our connection, not distance and cheap gifts to be returned the next day nor the debt to be paid away on until April AND I wanted to anticipate the "connection" just as much as my children. Here's are some of my favorite changes:

I bake. From now until the first of the year I will bake every imaginable goodie (some I will freeze and we will enjoy these throughout February). My kids do to.... the most important part of my holiday is sharing and it is expected at each holiday gathering or meal that they bring something. This Thanksgiving Melissa made the apple dip and sliced the apples. Matthew took the corn from the freezer and cooked it. Dave washes up, pulls out special dishes, sweeps, and cuts/slices, rearranges, etc. ... he always leads our family into a prayer of thanks and continued blessings before we eat. They both will make something substantial at Christmas time also. Last Christmas season Melissa chocolate's a BUNCH of goodies, we splurged on an after the holiday sale of "the chocolate factory" from the year before and stored it away. Matthew made a crock pot corn pudding and muffins and cleaned up Melissa's chocolate tools (with his tongue).

Now begins the "holidays" in my family. I will share more about our holiday practices as well as food in the upcoming weeks. For now I will get this posted and prepare for the day.

I hope this post has found you with much to be thankful for!

Oriental Buffet and Cranberries

Snowball says, "HAPPY NEW YEAR!"

She has been enjoying laying in every possible position around our home to attract my attention. Whenever I look at her it is as if she is trying to say, "Wow - me and this food are a perfect match!" or "If you think you need this box, you'll have to pet me to get to it." I have picked up ribbon several times that she has stretched across the floor. Unfortunately, I have previously picked up a few broken ornaments, she has yet to understand that the shiny glass ones break.

SATURDAY NIGHT my sister came back from New York. We had an oriental meal at my house for "Christmas" since she had to be away working when the rest of the world was celebrating otherwise. I indulged myself in the kitchen (which I really did enjoy) to make the following feast. It was supposed to be a potluck, but only candy or snacky type foods were offered. Even though my family is the only animal free people there, no one else seemed to care that meat was not the main course or any part of it for that matter. No one complained. The salad rolls and miso soup brought the most compliments! We truly had a vegan buffet ...

Here's what I served ...
My camera lens got steamed on, so it's a little blurry. Oriental Pasta Salad, vegan coconut macaroons with a dollop of chocolate frosting and an almond slice sticking out of it, dates, burnt french peanuts, vegetarian sushi rolls sprinkled with sesame seeds (click the link to an awesome veg sushi demo), homemade "sushi" pickles (from this summer's cucumber harvest), a crock full of miso soup (click on the link for the recipe, scroll to the end of the post), a bowl of sliced oranges (not pictured), ginger soda (occasionally this is nice for a treat), tamari sauce, rice vinegar and seasoned rice vinegar ....

Thai basil salad rolls and peanut dipping sauce with extra salad because I noticed this meal was lacking in veggies (unusual for an oriental meal usually full of stir fries). I have made these before using mangoes (link above). This time I used pear and sprinkled on 1/2 tsp dried basil since I had no fresh.

To the right is a close up of the macaroons. I got the idea from Fiber at 28 cooks, but exchanged the condensed sweet milk and egg whites for 4 ounces lite mori-nu silken tofu, 1/4 tsp KAL stevia extract powder, and 1/2 Tbsp Energ-g egg replacer with 1/4 cup water.

The noodle salad is one of my favorites. This one is made with multi-grain spiral noodles. I had a class make this recipe not long ago, click the link if you would like to see the picture of it.... it was with rye noodles which made the salad a little darker in color. I like the "lighter-ness" of the multi-grained noodles. This recipe is in Bryanna Fiber for life cookbook. It is also alot like the recipe for BRYANNA’S ASPARAGUS-NOODLE SALAD WITH SESAME scroll down for original recipe that is listed on her free archives. Here is the dressing recipe that I put on a 16 oz box of noodles, 1 lb broccoli (steamed) with 1 cup purple onion, 1/2 C red pepper diced, and 12 oz firm regular tofu marinaded and baked for flavor after being cut into small wedges:

DRESSING:

7 T. soy sauce

1/4 c. toasted sesame oil

3 and 1/2 T. dark unbleached sugar

3 T. balsamic vinegar

3 T. water

1 T. grated fresh ginger

2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. chili garlic paste

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed

After making the brown rice sushi rolls I turned the leftover ingredients into a salad and added some currants. Here is a combination of the sushi pickles, leftover pickle juice (alot like seasoned rice vinegar), carrots, red pepper, pear diced, salt and pepper to taste along with a few seaweed pieces (the broken pieces of the sushi rolls I made). I don't have a previous link about these pickles, but I did find my canned onion curry relish which would also make a good rice salad flavoring too, check it out if you like.

I actually have to confess on the brown rice, it came from a jar. When I operate the 23 quart pressure canner to can a batch of stuff I like to make sure I have a maximum # of jars in there since it takes more than two hours. To fill up jars I can pints of brown rice, it turns out sticky and unappealing to serve alone, but when broken up it can make a base for other ingredients and that is what I did with this salad. It was a nice "change of pace" kind of meal.

The "sushi pickles" (pictured above) a pickle that uses cucumbers, onions, carrots, and slices of fresh ginger root. They are nice to eat alone or to include along side of homemade dished like this. The recipe came from SUMMER IN A JAR by Andrea Chesman. I love the variety and the fact that the recipes are written to prepare the canned goods by the quart or pint. They really do remind me of the little pick ginger slices at a sushi bar.

MORE ON CRANBERRIES . . .
I did some canning. Cranberries are around in abundance right now for a little while longer - I bought 12 bags not long ago. I froze some whole for smoothies, this chutney recipe and jellies can also be made with the frozen berries. Although my tradition is cranberry relish for which I make, freeze, and thaw already prepared the chutney is a recipe that I have been meaning to try for some time and finally got around to it this year. Other than tasting some that would not fit into a jar (despite the little bit of cayenne pepper, it is not spicy at all), I cannot say that this has rated at the tradition level yet, but I will be looking into ways to use it soon. I made 12 pints, gave 7 and have 5 pints left... suggestions welcome.

CRANBERRY CHUTNEY (6 pints)
I originally photocopied this recipe from a book I checked out from the library called HOMEMADE, sorry but that is all I wrote about it. I changed the recipe to make it sugar free (stevia sweet) and added the lemon juice to offset the stevia flavor.
Chop in the following in a food processor to the size a little larger than rice:
1 large green apple
6 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
1 C red onion
1/2 C celery
1 1 /2 Tbsp minced garlic
..... (recipe said 2 1/2 cups light brown sugar) .......
I used 2 tsp KAL stevia extract powder and 1 cup applesauce with 2 Tbsp lemon juice
3/4 cup dry red wine
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp cardamom
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
Combine in a medium sauce pan, bring to a boil over medium heat, turn heat down and simmer for 30 minutes or until mixture is thick and flavors are blended. Remove from heat and pack into sterilized jars and process for 15 minutes.

• USES for chutney in general (not vegan but can give some good ideas)

• Sweet and sour cranberry recipe from an oriental site

ABOUT WINE
Check out this interesting site!
DRINK SOME WINE

I am a thief (second attempt with pictures) .....

I'll try this again and hopes that blogger doesn't "thief" my pictures. In order to do this I deleted the last blog page which also deleted comments. If you left a comment there I did see it, but it is gone now.

Hi! Christmas has been and I am glad. It is worth the fuss.

I have a confession to make. This Christmas I received numerous gifts including the three cookbooks you see me pictured here with (I dig my Christmas moose overalls). No, I did not steal the cookbooks - they were gifts, but I did borrow the following ideas and have no intentions of returning them...

#1 Gaia's Chickpea Roll
I first thought it would be a bit fishy. It had a mild sea vegetableflavor and although I haven't cared for this before... it was very mild and I enjoyed this recipe.

Loved the crispy outside and filling innards. I served this with a wonderful vegetable filled tomatoey stew called Manhattan chowder from Bryanna's 20 minutes to dinner cookbook (p. 63).


#2 Martha Stewarts Graham Cracker houses
Melissa's awesome church (took 7 hours) and Matthew's colorful double wide trailer (took 1 hour 15 minutes). Sunspire "m&m's" make a pretty decoration that got picked off and eaten. The Christmas tree's surrounding the cathedral (deformed gumdrops painted with a permanent marker and held together with a cinnamon stick) could not be eaten.

Sorry Martha this one was fun and we're keeping it.

#3 Dreena's Carob Chip Muffins (vlv p 34)
These are made from 100% barley flour. I was absolutely amazed!!! When I first read the recipe I really thought that "moist texture" meant gummy aka unpleasant. I made them as the recipe stated, which the family really liked. But then, I must play .... I made a few changes. I omitted the sugar and syrup and all but one tablespoon of the oil, I added 3/4 tsp KAL stevia extract powder, 1/2 cup unsweet applesauce, and 1/3 cup mini bittersweet vegan chips with 1/3 cup craisins in place of the omissions. WOW! They made an awesome muffin! The "moist texture" only refers to the fact that they are not dry and falling apart ... not the gummy, squishy or otherwise "tender" I have come to find most alternative bakers describe as "moist". This one was a real treat. In place of the chips and craisins I am going to try them with about 1 cup of my favorite raw cranberry relish (in place of applesauce and the extra for flavor) next time.

Okay I confessed and now that this is out of the way
I will go on to share with you some of my gifts...

I have desired to try some wine for several years now and have wanted to visit a "homegrown" style winery for along time. I finally got the chance to and Dave bought me two bottles... although I had several to choose from I picked out the Crimson Cranberry and Red Raspberry flavors. The sales gal told me to try the red raspberry in hot cocoa - I will. Would love some other suggestion for how to use these, other than dry wines for cooking I have never been much of a drinker. I do know that these wines are very sweet.

I'm going to save these to open on Saturday night when my sis comes home from New York again. She along with my aunt and uncle, a couple of cousins, mom and niece will be having an oriental style buffet at my house. I look forward to sharing the food we make for this soon. I also got a nice gift certificate to amazon.com ... I'll be checking other blogs to find out what cookbooks others are enjoying this year before I decide.

Also in the picture I got a tin of Zhena's GYPSY LOVE tea, Mr Artsey key chain, two vegan dark chocolate candy bars, a stone nativity candle holder, a CD called HUGS for the holiday that plays nice instrumental music, and a sterling silver cross necklace. The tea is tasty and the music is relaxing.

CRAFTY REPORT . . .
This is Matthew... remember him? :)

He has been into the renaissance time period and desired a walking stick for his costume. Dave cut one out of oak, I wood burned Matt's name and his favorite bible verse on it, stained it and decorated it for a gift for Mathew. He thinks it is pretty neat.

Now he will go back to the fare in style, although he still hopes to get those ridiculously priced boots ... not this gift time.

And a recipe to share from my breakfast table to yours (restitution of a sort... for my food crimes above ;o) ...

BIG MAPLE NUT AND CINNAMON RAISIN ROLLS
I like to use my oatmeal bread dough for this recipe. It gives a more tender roll and combines a little soy flour and flax meal to offer more nutrition. My bread dough recipe follows:

Dori's Oatmeal Bread (makes 2 loaves)

I triple this recipe when I make it in my BOSCH Universal kitchen appliance.

2 cups hot tap water
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup maple syrup OR 1/3 cup unrefined sugar
3/4 cup quick oatmeal
3/4 cup freshly milled whole white wheat flour
2 Tbsp SAF instant yeast

Step 1: Mix all in mixer bowl until blended, cover and rest for 15 minutes to proof yeast.

Step 2: Add remaining ingredients while mixing on speed 2 (I have a Bosch compact that has 4 speeds which I use when I make a small batch like this. It is similar to a kitchen aid, but I have never used a kitchen aid).
2 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup soy flour
1/2 tsp ground dried ginger
3 Tbsp flax meal
1 1 /2 C great river milling bread flour (partially refined to remove some bran, but germ is intact)
1 1/2 cup more freshly milled white whole wheat flour

Cover and allow to knead 8 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Divide dough in half. Shape into loaf. Roll into extra oatmeal to coat loaf all over. Place into oiled 8 x 4" bread pan. Rise 20 minutes while covered with an oiled plastic wrap to avoid drying out. When doubled in size place in oven and spray oven sides and bottom with water from a water bottle to create a steam. Bake @ 350 (I have a convection oven, so you may need to bake in a non-convection oven for 30 minutes) for 25 minutes. Remove from pan and place loaves on a wire rack to cool.

To make the rolls, I section the dough into portions.
For maple nut I combine 1/3 cup unrefined sugar with 1/8 tsp maple syrup and 1/4 cup coarsely chopped English walnuts. Roll the bread dough into a rectangle onto a Crisco greased counter with a little crisco'd hands. Spread the sugar mix, roll up and cut into 6 pieces. Lay these into a greased 9" round cake pan. Allow to rise 2o minutes, bake for 20 minutes (I use a convection oven lined with stones on the top and bottom rack). Remove from pan onto a cheap paper plate and cool on a rack.

To frost: Combine 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 - 2 drops maple favoring and a little water to make a nice frosting drizzle (not to much, it is better to add more water after creating a to dry "drizzle", but you can always add more sugar if needed to get the consistency right.

For cinnamon: 1/3 cup unrefined sugar with 1/2 tsp high quality cinnamon

Last picture is of Melissa's ornament cookie. We created the red sugar by adding drops of red food coloring to regular sugar granules and stirring it until we got the desired color.

Using the harvest, part 1

Woot! My new canning storage area in the basement is up!

I put this on DH's "Honey Do!" list to be created since I purchased my 23 quart pressure canner/cooker way back in July 2006. Although I had a rack that held 8 jars deep I did not have the width to see what jars were behind others. If I wanted a certain jar I had to move many others to get to it... not convenient at all. I also had zero space to store the jars once they were emptied until they were to be used again, so a corner of my kitchen had a box full of jars needing to be moved somewhere. However all these problems have been solved with one little purchase and Saturday assembly - DH and DS found it to be a good project for a frigid winter day.

Finally, I can show you canned goods that I have left from last years harvest, minus some tomato based pasta sauces and apple sauce or butter (I haven't decided yet) that I intend to make with the fruits stored away in my freezer. I still have broccoli, cauliflower, green beans, greens , and some corn in the freezer that we have been chowing on. Fortunately I can get to this easily now also, previously the rack I had canned goods on made my time getting to and using the freezer in our basement difficult.

Foods on my shelf - - - -
Yearly favorites (links to my previous blog entry about these foods):

Onion curry relish, piccalilly: a dutch pennslvania treat, caraway pickled beets, dilly green beans, dilly cauliflower, dilled cauliflower carrot red pepper mix, bread and butter pickles (stevia sweet), "sushi" ginger carrot cucumber pickles (stevia sweet), salsa, strawberry rhubarb very low sugar (stevia sweet) jam, low sugar orange marmalade, apple sauce, apple butter, pear butter, pumpkin butter, and diced apples (just the whole fruit in a light lemon juice and stevia sweetened water) and cinnamon that reminds me of diced pears, zucchini relish (my purple ribbon county fair winner).

The pressure canner gave me the ability to can russet and red kinebec potatoes, green beans, corn and sweet potatoes. Previously I used a cold storage for these (which I still did for some), but it is so much nicer now to have these veggies ready to open a jar and go.

New in 2006:

• Plum Sauce (made with 2# purchased plums from a farmer's market I went to), nicely seasoned with oriental five spice powder ....kind of like a sweet and sour sauce, but definitely made with fruit. I sweetened mine with stevia. The recipe I based it off of came from the book Summer in a Jar.
• Avjar (link to recipe)- Balkan red pepper relish, a recipe from Bryanna Clark Grogan. Although she doesn't can it I used the same canning time that animal meat takes (1.5 hours under 10 pounds pressure). My thinking was that if the time and pressure can allow animal meat to be preserved then surely it kill the bacteria in this sauce. I opened a jar of it after four months and it had a wonderful consistency and was very good.... just as good as when I made it fresh and refrigerated it.
• Cranberry Chutney (link to the recipe) - I found this recipe in a book called Gifts from the kitchen. I made mine sugar free (using stevia instead) and added apple sauce to measure the quantity of the sugar originally called for. I added this to a sandwich using sliced seitan to resemble some of the after thanksgiving sandwiches I have seen in recipes.... yum. I also used it on crackers and soy cream cheese as well as toast one morning that I wanted to finish up the last of it from the jar. This recipe will make it to the yearly list. I did use marked down cranberries from the grocery store (2 / $1). My recipe says this chutney can be made using frozen cranberries also, I stocked up on that sale so I could make it again if I want but I will most likely use the remaining cranberries in smoothies.
  
• Stevia sweet apple pie filling - our tree gave us nice abundance this year. I adjusted a recipe from our state extension office family hotline. They actually emailed me the recipe I requested (sugar free apple pie filling) and canning requirements. I made mine sugar free however it does use apple juice so it is not watered down sweetness. The family LOVES this recipe. It is a fast dessert to take some of this, sprinkle it with granola and top it with some soy yogurt or ice cream for a fast dessert.
  
• Sweet corn relish - this is delightfully different from Chesman's book, but pretty yummy to dress up a taco salad or wrap. It adds a sweet and sour type flavor combo.
  
• Legumes and home canned soups.... Money saver and time saver. This has been my favorite use. Canned convenience soups can be so expensive. The fact that I can use my own veggies (sometimes I purchase them) and organic legumes makes the whole hassle of learning how to can like this worth it.
  

A garden / preserving resource I added to my side bar is author Andrea Chesman. I love her canning book called Summer in a Jar because of the small batch recipes (one quart or pint at a time). Another one is the Ball Blue Book, it is the canning "bible" if there is one and I use it as a reference on low acid and other food times, but I rarely use these recipes. It is nice because it includes dehydrating and freezing preservation also.

While I am on the topic of garden produce and canning I also will let you know of low-acid soups and legumes I have pressure canned and LOVE.

• Dori's COOP Black Bean Soup (link to recipe)
  
• Sicilean Style Spilt Pea Soup (Bryanna's Fiber for Life Cookbook)
• White Chik'n Chili (my own recipe, but inspired by a Taste of Home magazine recipe)
• Basic white navy beans, black beans, black eyed peas ... (not seasoned, just to open and use), and some seasoned ready to use TVP chunks, ground taco TVP meet, and Louisana style red beans to serve over rice.

This is long enough for now, but since I have access to my preserved food I am totally inspired to use it, which I definitely did. If I mentioned a "my own recipe" food here and you would like me to post the recipe, let me know and I will.

Part 2 using the harvest (coming soon)
It will include pictures of :
Dori's canned potato mash with Punk Rock Chickpea Gravy
Stuffed Mushrooms with bread crumbs from the freezer
Bryanna's Fiber for Life Quick Chili with more garden harvest vegetables

Food for life....

CHECK OUT THIS HEALTHY WINE LINK

Since I got some for Christmas and was sharing with friends I just had to do a search to find out the best way to enjoy it. My exploration of wine allowed me to find out....
1) A person does not drink wine to get drunk.
2) Usually wine is most remembered by a special event and the people it was celebrated with.
3) It's okay if a person says I do not like red wine or any other for that matter, no need to convince them otherwise. I don't like most wines either, but the fruit wine we bought is pretty tasty.

2007 is here.

Empty Red Raspberry Wine and Blushing Pink
Champagne bottles complete with empty glasses.

Bringing in the new year, we anticipated the event with two neighboring families whom we played Yahtzee (I won) and Clue (I accused and lost early in the game). One neighbor couple brought their three children so they watched the movies THE INCREDIBLES and SPY KIDS. About 9:30 pm we opened and shared the fruit wine between the 6 of us and then at midnight we popped open the bottle of bubbly. I had Dreena's Mushroom and Wild Rice soup in the crockpot to munch on through the evening. One neighbor brought some organic blue corn chip along with a cheesy salsa (non vegan) combination and the another brought chocolate pretzels, probably not vegan.

RESOLUTIONS ...
To begin the year I have a few personal growth goals as well as a few family financial goals.

#1) Personal goals: DH and I are at a time in our life when we transition into me going back to work after leaving the workforce to be a homeschool mom for seven years. I used to be a social worker before going pro mom, but over the last couple of years I returned to school to prepare myself for the transition of children beginning to grow up and out. Of course I will be going into a food and family related work now with my family and consumer science degree and teaching certification, but for personal satisfaction and enjoyment I blog. Thank you for an enjoyable 2006 and I look forward to inspiring and being inspired by fellow bloggers out there whom I might otherwise not have the opportunity to meet.

#2) Food goals:
Okay over the past month we have went all out on sugar and wheat in our house. My clothes still fit, but I feel the sluggishness of what I have done to myself. I'll offer some recipes and thoughts about this below. I'd love to understand more about cleansing or fasting ... tips and links welcome.

A LITTLE HISTORY ...
Concerning goal #1: I left the paid workforce seven years ago when I discovered a I had a son with special needs... actually, several of them... Asperger's syndrome, ADD w/o hyperactivity, social anxiety disorder, asthma, food allergies, and hypoglycemia. For us we realized that there came a time in life that QUALITY of life was more important than staying in the mainstream system where our evenings and weekends were set by assignments given at school which in actuality had nothing to offer his life after this "education". This journey lead me into exploring food "cures" and I learned a great many things. Unfortunately food has not been the "cure" but our whole family has benefited as we changed our diet and lifestyle into an organic, back-to-nature with home grown produce, whole grain, vegan, etc and still learning. My son is improving and he is able to attend a college level computer networking and technology program in "the big city" living the week away from home and returning on weekends. He still has some issues, but they are more manageable and we have found that food does have a very important role but is not the only factor.

Food has been good to us. As a family we started the small whole organic grain bakehouse and worked it for the past five years. It was not the sole source of our income as DH works elsewhere but managed all aspects of our business, my job was to learn to live on his one income, and together we worked baking, selling, growing, living, etc. A couple of years ago we were to the point that we either needed to hire employees (and start a small factory) or reduce and stay a specialized mom and pop business that we could enjoy. We decided to down size and continue to do only what we enjoyed. Now that my children are growing up I intend to take my knowledge of food and business into the public sector to help students and later families with my experience and area of knowledge. This is the year for this to begin and today I look forward in anticipation.

TO MEET GOAL #2: BREAKFAST
OATMEAL WITH FRESH CHOPPED APPLES and cinnamon

I use 1/2 cup rolled oats (not quick), 1/2 cup water, 1 cup water, and a sprinkle of cinnamon sweetened with KAL stevia extract powder to taste. I microwave the dish for two minutes on high (watch to make sure it doesn't bubble over and leave it sit for 2-3 minutes while I prepare coffee and make a sweet tofu yogurt sauce to eat on top of my dish. This is a wonderful weight watchers core recipe and with lite silken tofu and a little xanthan gum you can make an incredible VERY low calorie, satisfying drink. ( LINK TO 1 point: MOCHA SMOOTHIE and more oatmeal recipes) You may think to yourself that you ate an very big meal, but if you are a ww point keeper the total meal is only 3 points.... of course you will be hungry for a snack later, think of how few calories your just ate. Want to make it a few more points to make it to lunch add 4 - 6 English walnuts or almonds. Maybe a square of my favorite dark chocolate will be satisfying also... this will only add a point or two (depends what kind you use).

NEW YEARS DAY WAFFLES AND OUR FAMILY TRADITION:
LINK TO WAFFLE RECIPE also includes another smoothie recipe

Every new years DH and I are up on New Years Day preparing healthy waffles (which happens to also be a ww core item), Bryanna's TVP S'SAGE patties, and strawberries (which we use as syrup). I buy some sweetened strawberries and some whole without sugar and sweeten them myself with stevia. I melt a little of my homemade sugar free chocolate syrup for the top and also use my homemade soy yogurt, however one of my family members brought their own organic dairy yogurt.

The best thing about this day is that I have the time make up a bunch more. I multiply the recipe by 4 and make up a bunch ahead to freeze. The pile of waffles in the picture are actually leftover after feeding 9 people. They are also ww core or 1 ww point (i believe) and in general plain healthy and full of fiber. They are not your typical light and fluffy buttermilk stuff, but they are light enough very tastey. I do sweeten my batter with a touch of KAL stevia extract powder and have left the sugar completely out of it.

FROM DECEMBER BAKING ...
I know that the holidays has probably got most of us thinking about less food or more veggies due to all the rich treats we ate over the past month. However, I want to add that I do enjoy baking and I rarely ever buy snacks, because of it. After that introduction I present (with anticipation of the next cookbook) more baking...

Drumroll for Dreena ...
Here I share a couple of cookie pictures for her upcoming book that I had the opportunity to test in December and they were wonderful.
CHOCOLATE MINT MELTAWAYS

JAM-PRINT COOKIES
She says the new book will be out in Fall 2007. I'll be waiting... I have really enjoyed cooking from the two books she currently has out.


The following muffins come from the book Vive Le Vegan
Orange Poppy Seed Muffins. They are made from 1 1/4 C oat flour and 1 cup barley. Weight watchers fans will like that these flours are CORE foods, although they do contain a minimal amount of oil I think this could be subbed easily. This muffin batter started rising immediately in my mixing bowl, so I really heaped it in the muffin cup. .... obviously a good thing I did because they did not rise much in the oven. I have discovered several of Dreena's muffins have this "poofy" nature. These muffins made a pretty presentation and the oat flour gave them a somewhat nutty flavor, they were filling also and had that "stick with you" quality. If I personalized this recipe I would do away with the syrups and use stevia, maybe add some real oranges so that the orange pulp would be included .... however you know this is the season for cranberries. Family rating: C-, they didn't care for the lack of flavor but texture was good as long as you had a drink to sip on with it. I guess I am not as picky with foods... I liked the ingredients in it and went to the work of making them so of course I ate them. I did add fresh cranberry relish to the top in place of jelly foer added flavor and I had to freeze them until I could get through them since I am the only one who ate on these.