Returning Soon!

I have been without my computer and have been able to post. I just received the part for my computer and will be posting soon!

I wish you all a very happy and safe holiday season. Stay warm and stay safe.

Winter is here!

Oh the weather outside is frightful no really, but I feel like it is. Oh yeah, winter is on the way, I feel it. In fact I was feeling the pain start in my shoulder and arm and decided to check the local news for the current weather prediction. Know what, I was right on time, they predicted a low pressure system moving in at the same time I began feeling the sharp pains. It is so nice to know I can predict the weather and I don’t even have the proper college education credits. Oh who needs it when you have Fibromyalgia anyway? In fact…who needs Fibromyalgia? Not me!

Which got me to wondering; what the future will bring? Rain and then about 1”-3” of snow tonight and another 3” – 5” additional tomorrow. Oh yay, my connective tissues are rejoicing as I ponder this. Good thing I loaded up the firewood for the fireplace earlier today and got the snow fence up! Of course, that may be part of why I am feeling the stabbing pains right now. Keep my mind occupied and maybe I will hurt less. At least that’s what I am thinking at this point. It is supposed to be 10 degrees below tonight. At least the pain won’t be as bad since the snow has started. I received a text that I should take tomorrow off. Something I would normally rejoice at, but I do need the income at least to pay for the medications. (LoL)

 

Today was officially the first day of winter in my book; it snowed today after a layer of freezing rain. So glad I don’t have to shovel the mess, that’s what they make husbands snow throwers for. Honestly, I wouldn’t mind doing the driveway if I didn’t have Fibromyalgia. Being out in the country and having a neighbor with evergreen trees reminds me of my childhood. Walking in the snow, being outside at night with the snow blanketing the ground and the trees, muffling the sounds; I always found peace and quiet on a winter day with the snow falling. I remember building snow forts and making snow angels in freshly fallen snow. Being outside until my fingers and toes were frozen and then running inside to divest myself of coat, gloves and hat to await a cup of freshly made hot cocoa. Mmmmmmm….warms my insides just thinking about it. I do remember freezing at night though. Not being able to stay warm. That may be why I now have a warm quilt and down comforter covering my bed in the winter. I sit here now typing this under a down blanket. The only thing I seem to be missing is a nice warm cup of cocoa. I think I’ll go make myself some and then settle in for the night. Just as soon as I find the mini marshmallows to top it off.

Stay warm and think warm happy thoughts. They help ease the pains associated with Fibromyalgia. Who knows….maybe they will find hot cocoa is good for it!

Just a vegetable

As the weather turns colder and colder with a chance of snow and I realize the warehouse I am walking through is warmer than my office area, my thoughts turn to warm things like; what am I gonna make for dinner tonight? I have left over Marinara and spaghetti in the fridge, but for some reason it doesn't sound enticing this evening. I want something hot and liquid in substance. Soup. Homemade soup sounds good with a grilled cheese sandwich. Comfort food on a cold winter’s day. That's what I want! Why is it homemade soup just reminds me of childhood and playing out in the snow, making snow forts and hiding from a barrage of hard packed snowballs? But I digress….

Okay, now what kind of soup should I make? I thought about it. I decided I had the makings for Vegetable Soup. Maybe vegetable soup with a twist…..ham, vegetable soup with ham. Ha! And you thought I was going to say vegetable beef soup.

My mother used to make vegetable soup with ham. With this recipe, you can substitute beef for ham or ham for beef. Ham is lower in fat and it adds a different flavor and besides, it makes up for the artery clogging, heart stopping Bakalava recipe I posted.

So I thought I would share with you my quick recipe for vegetable soup. Enjoy it with or without meat. It has a flavor that will stand on its own. Bon Appétit.

Vegetable Soup

You will need the following:
32 ounces of V-8 juice

14 ounces canned diced tomatoes
12 ounces cubed ham or stew meat
1 cup diced onion
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables (lima beans, green beans, peas, carrots, and corn)
1 rib of celery diced
1 Tbl. minced garlic
2 small or 1 large blanched potato diced
2 medium or 3 small carrots diced

6 Tsp. beef bouillon soup base

1 Tsp. celery seed

1 bay leaf

a smidgeon of basil

a smidgeon of oregano

4 beef bouillon cubes

Salt and pepper to taste

3 cups water

Brown the stew meat or ham (or no meat at all) together with: onions, garlic, celery, and carrots in a large pot. The meat will start to brown and the onions and celery will become transparent and the carrots tender. When they have reached this stage, add 1 cup of water to deglaze the pot.

While the vegetables and meat are browning, in another pan, blanch potatoes. I usually cook them as I would for potato salad: in an inch of salted water with the skins on. When they are tender when pierced, remove from heat. Remove skins under cold running water. Dice potatoes.

Add V-8 juice, canned diced tomatoes (do not drain), frozen vegetables, potato, and spices. Next add 6 Tsp. of beef bouillon soup base and 4 beef bouillon cubes and 2 to 3 cups additional water to taste. Do not add salt and pepper until you simmered the soup for at least 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper and 1 bay leaf. Simmer on low for ½ hour. Remove bay leaf before serving soup.

Cold Hands Anyone?

Cold hands, warm heart….or so they say. I would rather have warm hands and a warm heart, especially on a cold night. So I decide to take things into my own hands. Literally.

While helping my father fold his laundry the other day, I watched him as he carefully examined his socks. Wondering what held his fascination, I asked him if his socks were okay or if he needed new ones. He replied that he had 10 new pair already in his dresser and he was wondering whether he trade his old socks out for the new ones. Mind you, there didn’t seem to be anything wrong with his ones. I think he just likes new socks.

When I asked him what he planned on doing with his old ones, he asked if I wanted them. I couldn’t reply quickly enough, SURE! He thought I wanted to wear them around the house. No, they were too big for that, I wanted them for my arms and hands. No, not sock puppets. No, not sock monkeys either. My grand plan? To use them during the cold days and nights on my Fibromyalgiac hands.

Weird? Maybe, but I find it works. I cut off the toes and cut a slit in the heel, just big enough for my thumb to pop through. It’s easy to get carried away and cut too much; I did that the first time I made my fibro gloves. It is always best to cut too little and take more away later than to cut too much. I don’t bother stitching them up or finishing the edges. Maybe I should, but I don’t bother. They cover me from elbow to knuckles leaving my finger tips free. I have used them at work while typing away in a cold office, in bed while reading and sometimes even sleeping in them. For some reason, the last few years, my Fibro seems to have settled in my arms, shoulders and hands. Of course part of that may be due to the fact that I broke my right hand when I was 18 and broke some fingers in my left hand a few years later.

Okay….I am a klutz, I admit it for the entire world to see. Those of you who know me, know I am accident prone. Who else do you know gets a ten penny nail in their knee that has to be surgically removed, stabs themselves in the knuckle with a dental tool, falls down a flight a stairs not once, but 3 times in her life, sprains her neck, ankle, knees and wrist over stupid things? Well…you just met her. I have been a klutz since childhood. I have also experienced aches, pains, and light sensitivity since childhood. I never said anything, never told a soul what I was experiencing. I just thought it was a fact of life. I thought everyone felt that way, they just never complained. Maybe I had the early symptoms of FMS since childhood; maybe the FMS makes me a klutz.

Whatever the reason, I know I must find solutions to certain problems that present themselves, one of them being hurting hands. They may not be elegant fingerless gloves, but they work without being cumbersome. I like cotton and I find cotton socks to be comfortable on my hands….and my feet. Just make sure you wash them before you put them on your hands. 

Heart Stopping Bakalva

Heart stopping, artery clogging goodness can be yours in just a few, not so short steps. I recently made a batch of this delectable treat which I haven’t made for about 5 years. I was asked to make it for a family get together recently. This recipe even appeals to some who don’t normally like Baklava. My mother had a recipe for Baklava from Danny Thomas’ mother. I don’t know how in the world she ever got the recipe, but she did. She made it for years and my sister and I never had the heart to tell her it we were allergic to the black walnuts she used. This recipe differs from that one as this is Middle Eastern as opposed to Greek style. After tasting this wonderful treat at a local bakery some years ago, I purchased their recipe book. I changed a few things as I always tend to do in recipes. I must warn you; just walking by the dish will add 10 pounds to your hips.

This recipe does take some time, so as usual; you may want to pace yourself. I survived making the baklava by starting on it two days before. I shelled the pistachio nuts ahead of time.  The day before I made the baklava, I chopped all the nuts in my cheap $6.00 mini grinder and chopper. Having chopped them, I placed the measured amount into a large plastic bag. I chopped the pistachios separately and placed them into a small plastic container. I took out the Filo dough from the freezer 24 hours ahead of time and placed it into the refrigerator until I was ready to work on the Samneh, Attar and Baklava.

It may sound redundant, but it cuts down on the actual time you will spend assembling the baklava and you won’t be as exhausted when you are done. Someone without Fibromyalgia may not have the difficulty we sometimes face when working in the kitchen.  Simple arm movements can be painful even excruciating. Standing can be very painful if you suffer most pain in your legs. The key for me to get through a long process such as this is to find ways to make it less stressful. Sure the process may take the same amount of time in the end, but by spreading it over a few days I am not as tired. I hope you can find a way to make to make this. My sister says it’s the best she ever tasted, which is kind of cool as she worked as a caterer for awhile and also inherited my mothers baking prowess. Just remember, it is a heart stopping, artery clogging recipe. But oh, what a way go!

 “Samneh”

            1 pound butter

            16 grams flour

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and cook on a low heat until the foam disappears from the top. The bottom will hold the sediment left from the flour, salt and other impurities from the butter. The Samneh will be clear. Remove from heat and cool. Pour the cooled butter into a glass container for using in your recipe.

You can make additional Samneh and store for sometime un-refrigerated in glass jars.

“Attar”

            2 cups sugar

            1 ¼  cups water

            1 Tbl. lemon juice

            1 tsp. rose flower water

Mix sugar and water bringing to a boil. Add lemon juice and boil for 7-8 more minutes. When mixture has cooled add rose flower water.

           

“Baklava”

            1 lb. Filo (Phyllo) dough at room temperature

            1 ½ cups finely chopped walnuts

            1 ½ cups finely chopped cashews

            1 cup Samneh

            ½ tsp. cinnamon

            ¼ tsp. nutmeg

            ¼ cup powdered sugar

            1 cup Attar

            ¼ lb pistachio’s  (set aside, do not mix with other nuts)

Mix together nuts, sugar, and spices into a large bowl. Set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Grease an 11” x 17” with butter. Do not use a baking spray. Place two layers of Filo dough in the pan. Brush lightly with Samneh. Continue brushing every 2 layers for 3 more sets of layers.

Sprinkle with some of the nut mixture. Continue layering the pan with 2 layers of Filo dough and a light sprinkling of the nut mixture until you have 3 sheets of Filo dough left. Place 2 sheets of the dough over your last layer of nut mixture. Brush again lightly with butter. Place the last sheet of dough on top.

With a sharp knife, cut into rectangular, square or diamond shapes. Pour remaining Samneh (about ¾ cup) over the pan.  Place the pan in the oven and reduce the temperature to 275 degrees. Bake for 1 ½ hours.  Dough will be slightly browned on top. If you wish to have a darker top, broil momentarily after baking.

While baking, shell pistachios and grate them.

Cool for 10 minutes. Pour cold Attar evenly over the surface, making sure you get the corners of the pan. Sprinkle the top with grated pistachios. Let set over night. Serve the next day. (If you can wait!)

How to survive a turkey dinner

So….you’re going to make a big turkey dinner for your family and maybe even a few friends. How are you going to survive the cooking, the baking, the cleaning and oh yeah, the pain of it all?  So how can you do it without killing yourself in the process? When I have the answer to that, I will let you know.

We had a turkey dinner planned for this past weekend. The plan was to have a dinner then go and see a movie (Harry Potter of course). So it takes a few days to get the house in order of course. After work, I found a little time each day to plan the menu, get the shopping done, and clean the house one room at a time while caring for my father after hand surgery. The day started early on the day of my fathers’ surgery, so I took advantage of cleaning several rooms that day. I still can’t believe I found time to do it all, but somehow I got it done.

The night before our turkey dinner I took the turkey out of the fridge to start the brine. After making sure I had the neck and innards removed, I placed the turkey and brine in the cooler and set it in the garage to remain cool. Dinner wouldn’t be until 5:30 or 6:00 the next evening, so it would have a good 15 hours to brine. I prepped the candied yams and green bean casserole for baking the next day. While prepping the dishes, I had a placed a pan of water and eggs on to boil for deviled eggs. Our guests were to bring dessert, so I didn’t plan any. I decided I have enough to do. I made a gallon of iced tea after prepping the green bean casserole. After a long day at work, I decided that was enough work for the night, so I hopped in the shower and went downstairs to take a load off.

Oh man, time for bed. As I pulled myself up the stairs and went through the mental list of what I still needed to do. I could sleep in tomorrow. What a concept! When I got up the stairs, I realized the eggs were still setting out. Should I peel them now or wait until morning? What the heck….I did them then. Eggs peel better when they are room temperature anyway. I learned that a long time ago. By the time I had them peeled and washed, I realized I had better start the dishwasher. Okay, then I could go to sleep.

Off to bed, I felt like I was well set for time next day and I could sleep in. In bed and relaxing I picked up my newest book to read. Too bad I fell asleep while reading it. I even dreamed that I had shut the light off and taken my pills. Too bad I woke up an hour later totally confused because the light was still on and the book was open and my glasses were still on. I set the alarm and proceeded to fall back asleep.

I hate to say it, but morning came too soon. It would have been better if I hadn’t received a call from our guests cancelling. But…. cancellations happen, just a fact of life. First things first- I would still have a turkey dinner; I would just have more leftovers. I sliced the eggs to make the deviled egg filling and filled them placing them in the fridge. As opposed to rolls, I decided to make my famous cornbread instead. While the cornbread was baking, I opened the jellied cranberry and dished it out. I prepped the big bird with a butter massage and herbs in the cavity. With the timing planned out, I placed it in the oven for 3 ½ hours. Wowza…. That meant I could chill out for a couple of hours! Maybe I could get someone to peel and cut potatoes for me.

Since company wasn’t coming, I could lounge in my pajamas all day. Planning can be a good thing. So I relaxed and checked out movie times for the evening while he did the potatoes. The turkey came out and I popped the green bean casserole in to bake for a half hour and started the potatoes, stuffing and corn on the stovetop. I set the table with pickles, deviled eggs, jellied cranberries and cornbread. The gravy was being made by the gravy master while I cut the turkey up placed everything on the table. I cannot believe it, but everything went smooth as silk. Gobbled up the turkey and stuffed ourselves before heading off to the overly crowded movie theater. No comment on the movie. I’ll save that for the movie reviewers. As they say… “alls well that ends well.”  Planning can be a good thing.

Oh Fudge!

I must share a recipe with you I found online at allrecipes.com. I have changed it just a little bit. As with any recipe, I cannot leave it alone, I must always adjust and make it my own. Just in time for fall. It goes great with eggnog or coffee. I plan on having mine for dessert this weekend when company comes over. Well….that is, if it will last that long. I may have to make another batch.

Please try it and enjoy. I know I will!

PUMPKIN FUDGE

Assemble Ingredients:

2 TBL butter                                 7 Ounces marshmallow crème

2 ½ Cups white sugar                     ¾ Cup canned pumpkin puree

2/3 Cup evaporated milk                 1 TSP pumpkin pie spice

1 Cup white chocolate chips            1 TSP vanilla extract

DIRECTIONS:

1: Butter a 9” x 9” pan and line with waxed paper, set aside

2: In a 3 quart saucepan, heat evaporated milk and sugar over medium heat. (Make sure you use evaporated and not sweetened condensed milk.) Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with a silicone spatula.

3: Mix in pumpkin puree and pumpkin pie spice. (Make sure you use puree and not pumpkin pie filling.) Bring back to boil. Stir in marshmallow crème and butter. Bring to a rolling boil. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 18 minutes. 

4: Remove from heat. Add white chocolate chips and vanilla. Stir until creamy and all chips are melted. (You will need to stir firmly and steadily.) Pour into your prepared pan. Cool and remove from pan. Waxed paper should peel off easily. Cut into squares. Store in a cool dry place, do not refrigerate.

The original recipe was found online at:

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-Fudge/Detail.aspx