>The little switches that matter

Posted on April 6, 2011 by Daisy

Little things really do matter. Things? Well, little actions and little pieces of life and little changes – slight switches in routine – make life feel good. Getting out of a rut. A quick hug. Finding a way to insert a thoughtful, supportive statement. I moved our supper time slightly later so Chuck and I can eat together more often. It’s a small change, a little switch in timing, and it makes a big difference in our spending time together.

Sometimes a little switch means sitting down for a restaurant treat. We eat healthy most of the time (we try, really, we do!), so a fresh batch of onion rings and fries still hot to the touch made this lunch out feel extra special. The server added a little touch, too; yes, that’s ketchup smiling at us. We couldn’t help it; we smiled back.

Chuck likes, no, LOVES ice cream, and while I enjoy it, I’m more likely to crave a piece of dark chocolate. But lately he’s been serving up a parfait that even I can’t resist: one scoop of vanilla topped with strawberries and whipped cream. The special touches: fresh grated nutmeg on top, and a dash of creme de cocoa. Mm. On my side, I’ve pulled out the ice cream maker, wiped off the dust, and tried out several simple recipes. Ice cream made from scratch or with a surprising special taste – both are little touches that matter.

Both of us enjoy looking for small pleasures in life. We’ve had some financial reversals lately, so simple pleasures are even more important. I enjoy looking at rocks, analyzing the fossils, and closely examining all things natural. It’s the science teacher geek in me; I can’t help it. But sometimes I find a strategically placed human-made surprise like this one. I think it fits the theme.

Chuck loves to swim and I don’t, so we made time for him to enjoy the pool in his way while I enjoyed it in my own manner. Between the plant life and the rocks surrounding the water, I also found this little message. I had to balance precariously on the edge of the pool to get both pictures. No, I didn’t fall in. And after I spent time exploring, I went back to one of my favorite relaxing hobbies: reading.

If you’re thinking, “Nah, I just don’t have time for this. My routines are perfect the way they are. I don’t have to start looking at rocks, making changes, adding new ingredients to ice cream and finding the writing on the walls.”

To that, I give you this statement:

If not now, then when?

I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Cottonelle blogging program, entering this post for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

>Keeping the family happy

Posted on March 30, 2011 by Daisy

Happy and frugal – these two don’t always go together. We’re pinching pennies these days. Luckily, we’ve discovered thrift shopping.

Amigo and La Petite and I were visiting relatives recently, and decided to check out the thrifting opportunities in their town. Amigo needed a polo shirt or two for his forensics meets, so that was our main goal. Amigo, of course, had his own idea: a bean bag chair.

First stop, their local Goodwill store. La Petite guided Amigo to the furniture department while I poked through the shirts in Amigo’s size. My teen, search through his own shirts? Oh, no, he had priorities. But I found two in blue patterns that worked for him, and we checked out. The next store on our list had a note on it. Sister-in-law had noted that this place had lots of clothes. I put La Petite and her smartphone in charge of navigating through town. Our journey ended in a strip mall with the thrift store and a Sears Outlet on the other end. Amigo teased me about trying on a pair of shoes on the way to the men’s shirt racks – heck, I didn’t know he’d be there before I was because they had no furniture, much less bean bag chairs in stock! I picked out two more – orange this time to go with his school colors, orange and black.

The Sears location was mainly an appliance outlet, and they didn’t have coffee grinders. Yes, dear readers, my coffee grinder bit the dust last week, and I was sad. Very sad. I did find a vacuum-sealer for preserving my garden produce next summer. It’s out of season, and that’s fine with me! I can store it until it’s time to pick and freeze the vegetables.

Keeping me happy: 4 polo shirts at an average of $1.50 each and an inexpensive tool for preserving the garden yield.

Keeping La Petite happy: chief navigator status. She’s good at this, with or without GPS. Need directions? Ask her.

Keeping Amigo happy: listening to store announcements in Spanish followed by English, testing his memory from high school Spanish classes. He has excellent hearing and a knack for languages and accents.

Keeping all three of us happy: time bonding together.

And the happiest fun? Playing with their baby cousin and the cats when we got to our home away from home. Yes, it was priceless.

I wrote this post (after returning from our visit and thrifting trip) while participating in Social Moms blogging program, this time in cooperation with Farm Rich. It is not a paid post, but I could qualify for a Target gift card worth $25. To find out how you can participate, click here.

>Southwestern Beef

Posted on March 29, 2011 by Daisy

>I haven’t tasted this yet; it’s simmering in the slow cooker right now, even while you read this. Normally I test recipes before I post them, but the meat was still a solid block from the freezer yesterday.

Ingredients:

2-3 lb. beef roast

1/4 cup onion, sliced

1/2 cup beef broth or stock

3/4 cup salsa (spicy to your taste!)

olive oil for browning meat

Brown meat on all sides in olive oil. Place in slow cooker on top of onion, with broth and salsa.

Start by cooking on high for 1-2 hours.

Turn to low and simmer for 4-6 hours or until tender.

Slice across the grain or pull apart.

Serve on rice or as filling for fajitas or burritos.

Just imagine the aroma in my house!! Shhhh: I’ll clean that litter box as soon as I get the coffee started.

>Gumbo!

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Daisy

>I saw a recipe for vegetable gumbo on a wellness page, and (of course) with just a few modifications, we had gumbo for supper. I’ve made gumbo before, and I’ve even posted recipes for gumbo and jambalaya in the past. I was especially proud of creating this batch with ingredients we already had in the house. Stock the pantry and freezer well, and it’s easy to cook from scratch.

Daisy’s Gumbo

Ingredients

1 small onion, diced

1/2 green pepper, diced

1/2 red pepper, diced

(Oops, I was out of celery. I’d fed the last stalk to the bunnies that morning.)

1 stalk celery, diced

1 teaspoon chopped fresh garlic

1 14 1/2 can tomatoes (I prefer them diced)

2 cups corn (fresh or frozen kernels)

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced

5 cups vegetable or chicken stock

Optional: Italian sausage and/or shrimp, 1/2 lb. each

Creole seasoning or hot sauce to taste

Ridiculously Simple Directions

Before starting: Brown Italian sausage (if adding meat) and remove from pot.

1. Over low heat, begin cooking onion and peppers in olive oil. Add garlic (and celery). Simmer for a few minutes.

2. Add tomatoes, corn, potatoes, and one Tablespoon of Creole seasoning. Heat through.

3. Add stock. Bring to a boil.

4. If you’re adding meats, add the sausage now.

5. Peel and dice shrimp. Add 3-5 minutes before serving.

Serve with rice!

I made this in my cast iron Dutch oven. It worked like a charm. Heated up evenly, nothing stuck to the pan, it was perfect. Did I mention that Chuck gave me the Dutch oven for Christmas? It’s wonderful.

In case you don’t like to follow back-links, here’s the Creole seasoning.

Creole Seasoning Ingredients:

2 1/2 Tablespoons paprika
2 Tablespoons salt
2 Tablespoons garlic powder
1 Tablespoon black pepper
1 Tablespoon onion powder
1 Tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 Tablespoon dried oregano
1 Tablespoon dried thyme

Combine all ingredients thoroughly. Store in a tightly covered jar. Yields 2/3 cup.

>Spring (Garden!) Fever

Posted on March 19, 2011 by Daisy

>Yes, I’m getting restless. In terms of health and well-being, I think it’s a good sign. The problem is, I can’t get out and play in the dirt yet – my garden areas are still covered with snow. Did I mention that yesterday? Uh-huh, I’m a little obsessed. Since I can’t get play in the dirt yet, I spent part of today reading about others and their plots.

Mother Nature Network titled their feature “Save money, reduce stress, and make tastier meals through gardening.” Wow, that’s some pretty high expectations for a patch of soil! My favorite advice from this piece: conserve water with a rain barrel. Mine are still upside down; the weather needs to get a bit warmer and the ground a bit more solid before I set them up to collect rain water.

The Eco Women ask “Do you Grow Your Own?” In the midst of the many choices gardeners make, it’s easy to overdo. Recycla of the Eco-Women reminds beginning gardeners to start small and choose wisely. Do the research: read the books, check the library, read the blogs and the web sites that pertain to your zone.

As long as it’s getting warmer, I think it’s time for me to start putting this together.

>What’s on your mind?

Posted on March 16, 2011 by Daisy

>Deciding on one blog post wasn’t possible today. It’s not writers’ block, but the opposite; there’s too much going on.

The new laws have a direct effect on me and my job. Our contract is still being reviewed; I’ve got one, I just hope all is well so I can sign it and have a job next fall.

Wisconsin’s politics have moved across the nearby Great Lake to the great state of Michigan. Hang in there, workers!

There’s room and plenty of fodder for another depression post. My recovery goes on, slowly: a marathon, not a sprint. Whether it’s an informational or personal post, I hope that by sharing I can do some good. Depression is widespread. Because it’s a mental illness, people don’t talk about it. I’m taking a deep breath and talking.

La Petite continues her job search. In this economy, I’m happy that she’s looking. It would be easy to give up, but she hasn’t.

Amigo is competing in forensics. He hasn’t told us much about it; I think he’ll be great.

My garden is still snow-covered. The snow is melting! Eventually I’ll see mud, then it’ll dry a bit and I’ll have soil! Real soil-slash-dirt and I can go out and get my hands dirty prepping for planting.

We just replaced our main family computer- not by choice. The previous desktop gave up. Thanks to the local Noon Lions’ Club, we were able to make it accessible for Amigo immediately. They donated the money for his adaptive software. Their generosity makes our lives so much easier, so often. So if you’re looking for a cause, look no farther than the local Lions.

So, readers, that’s a taste of what’s on my mind. What’s on yours?

>Green Bean Casserole

Posted on March 15, 2011 by Daisy

>It’s better than you think. This one’s from Alton Brown. I found this make-it-from-scratch recipe for green bean casserole on (are you ready for this?) Swagbucks TV. I was earning a few Swagbucks watching their Food videos and saw this one. I called Chuck over to watch it, too, and we decided to try it. The recipe calls for a large cast iron skillet, but I used my Dutch oven.

Green Bean Casserole

by Alton Brown, courtesy of Swagbucks TV

Ingredients

for the topping:

2 small or 1 medium onion, thinly sliced

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 Tablespoons panko bread crumbs (regular bread crumbs will work, but not nearly as well)

1 teaspoon kosher salt

non-stick spray

for the casserole:

1 teaspoon salt

1 pound fresh or frozen green beans, trimmed, preferably blanched

1 Tablespoons unsalted butter

12 ounces mushrooms, trimmed and cut into 1/2 inch pieces

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg

2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth

1 cup half and half

Preheat oven to 475 F – yes, 475.

Combine the onions, flour, panko, and salt in a large mixing bowl and toss to combine. Coat a sheet pan with nonstick cooking spray and evenly spread the onions on the pan. Place the pan on the middle rack of the oven and bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes. Toss onions 2-3 times during cooking. Once done, remove from the oven and set aside until ready to use. Turn the oven down to 400 degrees F.

While the onions are cooking, prepare the beans. Mr. Brown suggests blanching them now. I used garden beans that I’d blanched before freezing, so I didn’t take the time to do it again. So…on the with beans.

Melt the butter in a 12-inch cast iron skillet (or Dutch oven) set over medium-high heat. Add the mushrooms, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms begin to give up some of their liquid, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Add the garlic and nutmeg and continue to cook for another 1 to 2 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture and stir to combine. Cook for 1 minute. Add the broth and simmer for another one minute. Decrease the heat to medium-low and add the half-and-half. Cook until the mixture thickens, stirring occasionally, approximately 6-8 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in 1/4 of the onions and all of the green beans. Top with the remaining onions. Place pan into the oven and bake until bubbly, approximately 15 minutes. Remove and serve immediately.

No, this is not a sponsored post, either by Alton Brown or by Swagbucks. If you’d like to sign up for Swagbucks, a fun way of earning something for nothing, there’s a button at the top of my right sidebar. If you sign up through me, I get a few “bucks” for recruiting. Other than that, I just keep having fun searching for random rewards and earning points by watching recipes that I might actually make!

>Workplace Safety close to home

Posted on February 26, 2011 by Daisy

>After last week’s post with union history, I heard from relatives who reminded me of my grandfather’s union past. He worked for a paper mill in the 1940s before workers were union members.

The mills were extremely dangerous places to work back then. If not for unions, the mills could and did treat people as though they were expendable. A mill manager could arbitrarily fire a long time paper machine operator and replace him with an incompetent relative or neighbor. This kind of grossly unfair management was only stopped when the unions came in.

He saw great injuries caused by the paper machines. Safety wasn’t mandatory; making money was.

He saw people lose their hearing before ear protection became mandatory. One of those so disabled was my great uncle.

He was there when people died gruesome deaths. Two men from his little town went into a giant digester machine for maintenance and suffered gruesome deaths from a steam explosion.

Later, three local men died from inhaling toxic chemicals (Hydrogen Sulfite) in a sewer. Grandpa talked about this at length, blaming a combination of incompetent management and poorly trained, unprepared workers.

Readers, go back into your family history. You may have someone who remembers life before unions, life before OSHA, and life before management was forced to be fair. Ask your grandparents; you may find surprising stories.

>Amigo gets political

Posted on February 23, 2011 by Daisy

>It was a typical Friday night. I pulled up to the store parking lot to meet the bus from the school for blind, gather Amigo and his bags, and head home.

As he got in the car, he was full of excitement. “Mom, did you hear what’s happening in Madison?” He continued talking, telling how he’d been learning about how the legislature works, what a quorum is and why it’s important, and a lot about the process of writing and passing a law.

Then he dropped the bombshell.

“Mom, I wish I could go to Madison tomorrow for the demonstration.”

I offered, “How about downtown on the plaza tomorrow afternoon?”

Amigo responded with an enthusiastic “Yeah!!”

So we made a sign for Amigo, I wore red to support my colleagues, and La Petite charged her camera to document the event. Here’s the rest of the story. The top photo shows my neighbors, both retired high school teachers, great people and great teachers. No, they’re not wearing Bear colors; those are the colors of my alma mater, West High School.

This was perhaps the youngest participant at the rally.

I don’t usually show full face shots of my offspring, but they were so great together I couldn’t resist.

I’ll have more background on Saturday’s post: personal experiences passed down through the family the old fashioned way, by the oral tradition. Well, the updated oral tradition: my relatives emailed me the stories they’d heard from my grandfather.

>Comfort Foods: Winter Warm-ups

Posted on February 18, 2011 by Daisy

>The saying goes “If you don’t like Wisconsin weather, wait a day.” Last week we were dressing in several layers and wearing our boots for the warmth, not the snow. This week temperatures rose above freezing, and I joined the line at the car wash. I walked to the polls on Tuesday with an umbrella, thinking “It’s warm enough for rain, wow!” Comfort foods are still on the table, though. Mother Nature is just teasing. I know we could still get another blizzard or two.

When the weather outside is frightful, I go with the standards: chili and homemade bread. This is chili Wisconsin style, with beans and noodles. Trust me; it warms physically and emotionally.

Daisy’s Wisconsin Chili (slow cooker style)

1 can dark red kidney beans

1 can light red kidney beans

1 can diced tomatoes

1 lb. browned ground beef

1/4 cup diced onion

1/4 cup diced peppers (green & red bell peppers are my favorites)

1 jalepeno pepper, seeded and diced

1 Tablespoon chili powder

1 can tomato sauce

1 cup noodles; elbow mac or shells are my favorites.

Directions:

Brown ground beef in a skillet with the onion and peppers. Drain and rinse.

Add ingredients to slow cooker in this order:

beans
tomatoes
ground beef & onion & pepper mix
chili powder
tomato sauce

Simmer on low for 6-8 hours or high for 4-5 hours. An hour before serving, add noodles and turn to high. Stir.

Serve with with glorious toppings from America’s Dairyland:

a teaspoon of sour cream with diced green onions or chives
grated cheese: basic cheddar or for the adventurous, pepper jack

Notes:

I’ve had good luck with dried beans as well. Measure out 1 cup of each kind, soak overnight, and rinse before adding to slow cooker. Black beans also work well; they add a different flavor and color to the mix.

I’ve also used home-canned tomatoes and home grown peppers. If you can tomatoes from your own garden, it’s such a great flavor! The home grown peppers may be smaller, but the taste will be strong and you’ll dispense with the waxy covering on many store tomatoes.

As for the beef, no, I don’t raise my own cattle. Sorry.

As for bread, I use my bread machine. You can find my basic bread recipes in these posts.

Basic Wheat Bread

Basic Bread, half white half wheat

Basic White Bread

Compost Happens

Taking care of family, garden, and coffee and sharing it with the online world

Category Archives: family life

>The little switches that matter

>Keeping the family happy

>Southwestern Beef

>Gumbo!

>Spring (Garden!) Fever

>What’s on your mind?

>Green Bean Casserole

>Workplace Safety close to home

>Amigo gets political

>Comfort Foods: Winter Warm-ups

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