Cranberry Salsa Recipe

I haven't shared many recipes but I'm so excited about this one I had to spread the joy.

I am blessed to be a part of an amazing group of women who meet every Thursday evening for dinner, Bible study, and accountability. Between the 20 of us, there are some amazing dishes brought each week. A few weeks back (at our super fun baked potato bar), my friend Bethany laid out an amazing spread of chips and cranberry salsa. I was apprehensive at first but after one bite I was pretty much glued to that spot on the table, guarding my newly discovered, ruby treasure.

I found a similar recipe online and made a batch of the salsa for a small Super Bowel party we had the next weekend. I was not able to find fresh or frozen cranberries and attempted the deliciousness with a canned version. Though it was still delicious, it was a bit too sweet (the canned fruit has a fructose additive). I can't wait to make it again with fresh or frozen berries and really party with my taste buds...

Last Thursday night Bethany gave me a super cute recipe card with her version of the cranberry salsa.

Enjoy:

Bethany's Cranberry Salsa

1 bag of cranberries
2/3 c. sugar
1 1/2 limes for juice
1 bunch of green onions
1 bunch of cilantro
2 jalapeños (more or less depending on how much spice your craving- seeds optional as well)

In food processor, blend cranberries and place them into a mixing bowl. Add sugar, lime juice, and chopped green onions to cranberry puree. Place cilantro and jalapeños in food processor and chop. Add mixture to cranberry mix and stir well. Allow to chill in fridge for at least 2 hours before serving.

-Here is an added bonus-

Before placing the salsa in the fridge, poke holes into the top of a block of cream cheese and pour the salsa over the top. Place this into the fridge for a couple of hours to allow the salsa to seep into the cheese. Serve with Ritz crackers and tortilla chips.

Thanks Bethany for the amazing recipe!!

Organic or not organic...That is the question.

My dad asked me to write an article for his newsletter on the new research regarding pesticides and ADHD. I thought I'd share my first draft.


Enjoy...

As a young mom, attempting to figure out “parenthood” in the 21^st century, I am constantly bombarded with the challenge of raising healthy children. It starts at pregnancy with the print-out of what is and is not safe to eat, drink, wear, etc. No soft cheeses, no caffeine, no herbal teas, no nitrates, no sun-tanning, no hair dying, no hot tubbing, no, no, no. After wrapping my brain around the small but significant life changes I would have to make, I then had to maintain my sanity. “Is this ok to eat?” “Am I gaining too much weight?” “Does standing by a microwave damage my baby’s ability to do multiplication?” I was constantly grappling with new (and usually ridiculous) fears and unanswered questions. Half way through my second trimester, I was over it. I avoided the foods my doctor warned against (most of the time) and I was smart about my activities and energy levels. I refused to allow every little thing to cause me fear or make me question my ability to be a good mom. I felt liberated and empowered.

Then the baby came…

There are 50 billion books on how to care for a baby. All of them say something different. One book says to feed on demand, another says to schedule. This one says let them cry, that one says hold them at all times. After my baby was three weeks old, I put the books down and decided to make decisions based on our lifestyle, my child’s developing temperament, and how I could get the most sleep.

Now my little dude is 18 months old and we have entered a whole new level in the game of parenting. Climbing has become a favorite activity along with throwing all objects (food included) and discovering what will and will not float in the toilet bowl. Everything about being a mom has become more complicated. One nap or two? Pacifier or no pacifier? Barney or Thomas? So many choices to make every minute of every day.

The most recent dilemma I have found myself grappling with is the choice between organic and non-organic foods.  I have watched all the documentaries and youtube videos on the reality of where most main-stream foods come from and the process by which they get to our local grocery store. They all make me want to move to my own farm and grow my own dinner. Since that is not a realistic solution, I have had to step back and decide how I am going to let this new information on food affect my family.

The first goal I made was to begin to meal plan in order to save money and be intentional about the food I bought at the store. My next goal was to buy most of our produce at a local farmer’s market or fruit/veggie stand. I am currently working on my third goal of serving my family only organic produce. After reading a recent article on pesticides in Time Magazine, I can assure you I will begin to work much harder on goal number three.

Last week, Time Magazine featured an article on the relation between ADHD and organophosphates (a type of toxic pesticides found on grocery store fruits and veggies).  The more I read and re-read the article, the more uncomfortable I became. Not only is it disturbing to think about pesticides being traceable in a child’s urine, but the thought of my child ingesting the same chemicals used to kill bugs by “causing damage to the nerve connections in the brain” is pretty upsetting as well.

Though there is further research to be done, the study described in Time Magazine is not the first of its kind. Apparently the possible link between pesticides and ADHD has been up for debate for some time. It sounds to me like Dr. Bouchard, the leading researcher on the project, is pretty convinced…

Bouchard suggests that concerned parents try to avoid using bug sprays in the home and to feed their children organically grown fruits and vegetables, if possible. (Otherwise, parents should be careful to scrub all produce to reduce residue.) While pesticide-free fruits and greens may be more costly, Bouchard says they may be worth the price in terms of future health. (Time Magazine)

So for all the moms reading this, sorry for adding to the list of things to worry about. I’d love to hear your thoughts on the subject.

Packing Distraction: Lemon Sugar Scrub

Since we move this Saturday, both Tim and I have been a bit overwhelmed with the details of packing, renting, cleaning, etc. I decided to take a bit of a break from it all yesterday morning and come up with a cute little gift for my Thursday Bible Study ladies. Since we studied the book of Esther, I thought a "beauty treatment" gift would be fun.  I found this recipe for Lemon Sugar Scrub at Under the Table and Dreaming and decided to give it a try...

I love this recipe because the three ingredients are things I usually have at home. Sugar, evoo, lemons. That's it!

I used a bit more olive oil then the recipe called for because the bottles I bought have a narrow mouth and I needed the scrub to pour out a bit easier.

After mixing well, I scooped the scrub into the plastic bottles I bought at Michael's (40% off) and decorated with a colorful "thank you" sticker and raffia. I love how they turned out!!

Dangerously Delicious...

My dear friend Hillary recently turned me on to a blog called The Pioneer Woman. I think I've gained 5 pounds just from looking at the pictures of the amazing dishes she creates. After scrolling through a few dozen ridiculously delicious looking meals, I settled on what she calls "Cinnamon Baked French Toast."

I am in serious trouble.

Basically its one of the most wonderful foods I have ever put in my mouth. The recipe copy that went into my kitchen book has been re-named "French Toast Bread Pudding" because thats what it is.

Heaven help us.

Tim and I are bread pudding crazies. Like, we join the old people and go to Mimi's cafe just for decaf and bread pudding. Sometimes we call ahead, pick up the pudding, and bring it home to eat with our own decaf. We love the stuff. So now that I have a way to eat it for breakfast...again, serious trouble.

Disclaimer: While looking at the recipe, don't pay any attention to the quantity of the ingredients. Just focus on the quality of the dish. This is not a low fat, sugar-free meal. Honestly, its probably fills my calorie count for the day BUT it is so worth the extra cardio.

Tip: I baked the dish for 45 minutes to get the bread pudding texture. If you want less fluff, Pioneer Woman suggests cooking it a full hour. Also, I only used half a stick of butter in my topping. I just couldn't bring myself to use the entire thing.

(photo from Pioneer Woman)

Your Welcome.

Just call me "Martha"

Just for fun, I thought I'd share some of the projects I've been working on recently. Since the kitchen has become my reclaimed domain, I've had a lot of fun re-organizing and decorating my food lair.

The pantry was the first place that needed major attention. Since I am spending a lot more time cooking, I needed to actually be able to see what food I had.

Before



After


Next to be organized was my spice shelf. I am pretty sure we received a spice rack as a wedding gift but I didn't know what half the spices on the rack were so I never used them. In one of our five moves since being married, the rack disappeared. My spices have since become a mess of plastic bottles that get shoved around the shelf each time I look for something. I found a great idea for organizing the spices using small tins I ordered online. The total price of my spice shelf remodel was about $13.00.

Before


After


Now that the boring organizing projects are done, on to the fun stuff...

I bought this mirror for $7 at a garage sale. Super cute. It was a gaudy gold (which I actually almost liked) but I wanted to put it in the kitchen so I painted it a fun blue to match my rug and curtains. I think the mirror may be the one item I save if my apartment burns down. I love it.

Before


After


Last, but not least, I've been trying to come up with a better way to store my bread without involving zip-locks. As if she could read my mind, Amy Walker had a recent post on her blog, Homestead Revival, where she wrote on just that issue.

Using a vintage tea cloth (that for some reason I had never used) I made a bread bag to help the bread "breath" but not dry out.


The next step is to find a fun bread box for my new bread bag and it just so happens that one of our thrift stores is having a 50% off sale on Wednesday...wish me luck!

Victory

This weeks bread baking challenge was a smashing success! I had a lot of fun figuring out how to make bread from scratch though it took a lot longer then I anticipated. My advice for anyone wanting to experiment with baking bread: Give yourself an entire afternoon. My goal is to get faster and faster as I get more comfortable with the recipe and how to use the ingredients but until then, bread will definitely be a lazy Sunday afternoon or rainy day project. The mixing of the ingredients isn't the problem its the multiple times set aside for allowing the dough to rise that I wasn't prepared for. The plan was to have the bread with our dinner. It was a delicious 9:30 pm treat.

Here is the link for the recipe I used this go-around. Seriously, so delicious! A friend gave me her recipe which I will try next time that requires soaking the grains overnight.

Honey Whole Wheat Bread

I won't lie, I was quite proud of my little loaves. I am definitely hoping to make bread baking a weekly habit!

Healthy Obsessions

I'm discovering that I must have a bit of an obsessive personality. Since writing my first blog post on Friday, I have been thinking constantly about what to write on next. Something interesting will happen to Sawyer and I'll think, "Oh, I'll have to write a blog about that," or I'll remember something cool I read about or heard at Bible study and think it is most definitely blog worthy. This is exactly why I specified in my first ever post that my blog needed to have a focus and purpose. I really want my blog to be helpful, not just amusing or even interesting.

That being said, even the recent life lessons or events that I would categorize as "purposeful" or focused are hard to organize. God has been teaching me so much lately and I want to share it all. So, what to write about first...


I recently read a book called, "In Defense of Food" by Micheal Pollan. Those of you who have known me for a while know that I love to read. I prefer mystery novels. A good John Grisham (or if I am in a sappy mood, an old Victoria Holt) is always entertaining-which is usually why I'm reading...to be entertained. There are a few good Christian life books like Francis Chan's, "Crazy Love," or Gary Thomas', "Sacred Marriage," that I'll thrown in before bed time or Tim and I will go through together but when I want to just sit and veg and read, its usually going to be something requiring little brain activity. Pollan's book has changed that.

The last few months have been interesting for us. We're going through a lot of changes. Some easy, most hard, but all good. The word "refinement" comes to mind when I think about how life has been lately. Though most of the "refining" has been on our spiritual lives, a good portion of it has also been on our physical lives, specifically in regards to how we eat. I have recently met some super cool women who are really into eating well and "In Defense of Food" was recommended after I began to ask a bizzilion questions of the "how and why" nature. What a read!

Pollan's main theme is simple: "Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants." He walks the reader through what this looks like and the common sense reasoning behind his passion to convince people to eat "real" food. I am such a fan.

For the last six or so weeks, I have been cooking and using real food. In the grocery store, I try to only buy things with ingredients I recognize and can pronounce. If I don't know what it is or where it comes from, I put it back on the shelf and look for something else. Oh and the less ingredients that better. Basically, it means shopping the outside isles of the grocery store and spending a lot more time at the local Farmer's Market.

It was definitely all overwhelming at first. When I was starting reading the book I began to go through my fridge and was shocked at how much non-real food I had. Even my orange juice wasn't really "real" orange juice! Trying to change my mindset from buying what is cheapest to buying what is best has been tough, especially on the food budget we're dealing with. I am having to get really creative with recipes and food spending but knowing I am feeding my family good food is ridiculously rewarding. And, ask Tim, we have been eatin' good lately. What I love so much about this way of thinking is its not a diet at all! The only foods restricted and the ones that aren't even real food! Bacon-real food, steak-real food, ice cream-real food, coffee-real food, even BUTTER is real food! Obviously, all things in moderation is always a good rule, but I am hear to testify that it is possible to eat really good and healthy food, while on a tight budget!

I have certainly not master the cooking part and it is not something we do every meal (today we had bbq brisket I bought and heated up in the microwave and served on buns made from about 30 ingredients) but I have challenged myself to try to make 4-5 dinners a week from real foods. So far, so good.

Each week I'm trying something new. Last week, I made whole wheat pancakes from scratch. Way better then Bisquick, let me tell you. This week, I am going to attempt to make bread. I'll let you know how that goes! I am going to make a file of the recipes I like so others can enjoy as well.

Of all our recent changes, the slow switch from processed foods to "real food" has been the most fun, hands down. I love all that I am learning about seasonal fruits and veggies, soil quality, and grass feed beef and (again with the obsessive personality) can't wait to learn more.