Krebs Family Day 2009

Despite the rainy weather, I headed out with my in-laws for a nice day in the Hill Country. We first stopped at Driftwood Winery where we tasted some of their fare. I love that place! It has a great view overlookin the rolling hills, it's unpretentious, and they have really spectacular wines. I really enjoyed the 2004 Reserve Cabernet. We bought a bottle of Syrah (Kendall's fave) and a their Chardonnay (also lovely) and went on the patio for a picnic. My mother-in-law, Kathy, is a great picnic packer, so we chowed down on turkey or ham roll-ups, a salad of greens with sliced almonds and dried cranberries in a vinagrette, carrot sticks, tortilla chips with guac and salsa, plus a few apple slices. She also brought some cookies for dessert.

I had one turkey and cheese roll-up, about 1 C of salad, I hogged the carrot sticks (sorry guys!), two slices of apple, about 8 chips (I started with 4, went back for more) with about 2 Tbsp guac and 2 Tbsp salsa. I probably should have lessened the guac and went with more salsa, but there's nothing I can do about it now. I sipped the Syrah, and then later had a bit of sparkling pomegranite juice, a bite of Kendall's cranberry oatmeal cookie and a chocolate chip cookie. At the end, I had a taste of the chardonnay. Whew!

We packed up and hustled over to Becker Vineyards. We didn't taste there, but did peruse the booths that were out for the lavendar festival. I tasted some cedar plank salmon and couscous with Madgascaran pepper. It was nice, but nothing revolutionary. The lavendar soaps smelled really lovely and I thought of gifts for others, but didn't buy.

Then we hit up Wildseed Farms in Fredericksburg. I really recommend it for great plants, gardening ideas, and gift shopping. They have lots of local jams and jellies and salsa, plus soaps, ornaments, plates, etc. We had to have some of their peach ice cream, so Kathy, Fred, Kendall and I had a cone.

It started to rain, so we drove on over to Luckenbach. I had never been! It was really quaint and had that old-time Texas feel. We didn't dance, didn't drink, but sat and watched the band for a while. Then we headed home.

We stopped in Dripping Springs at Nutty Brown Cafe for dinner. After the wine and the ice cream and chips (oh my!), I ordered the salad (about 2 cups of greens) and a bowl of tortilla soup. It really hit the spot!

Then we went home, invited everyone in for another glass of wine, before settling in for the evening. We watched the British Comedies on PBS and had some chamomile tea.

Housekeeping

Forgot to post about Friday's meals... Wasn't too notable, but here goes!

Breakfast was the usual cereal with nonfat milk, and cup of black coffee. I got a bit hungry in the morning, so I snacked on some nuts and dried fruit (about 1 oz., or the size of an egg), which held me over until lunch. I had a turkey and mozzerella on wheat sandwich with mayo and, plus a bit of couscous (about 2 Tbsp) and more of the squash stew I made Thursday night. For dinner, we had cheese pizza with two glasses of red wine. I didn't do so well on veggies on Friday. : (

Getting $tarted

I went to the store on the way home and picked up some things for next week, so it's time for the first receipt! We are aiming for $40 a week for two people, and so far, we are on track...

I bought a pizza for dinner tonight (too tired to make from scratch) for $3.50, a gallon of milk ($2.99), loaf of whole wheat bread ($1.93), some frozen veggies and spinach ($1.56 and $0.64 respectively), some butter for baking ($0.64), a bottle of wine ($8.79), some oil ($2.18), a can of beans ($.0.68) and two cans of diced tomatoes ($1.38). The frozen veggie blend and spinach and beans and tomatoes will go into a minestrone tomorrow, if neccessary. Otherwise, it will hang out until we use it on our own. Technically, the pizza was for this week and the wine is not counted in groceries, but since the total is pretty low, I might keep them in and see how we do for an extra challenge!

I passed up a 5 lb. bag of whole wheat flour for $3, and am thinking of getting a little from the bulk section instead. We have about 1.5 cups left in the pantry, and I like having plenty around for pizza dough, crepes, pancakes, and I NEED a cup for muffins mid-week, so I might scoop up a cup or so and pay a little less.

I'll keep posting throughout the weekend. We seriously need some produce in this house!

Proof that People Still Cook in Cafeterias!

I saw this on NY Times today and it really warmed my heart. Why? you may wonder. Aren't school lunch ladies supposed to make meals from scratch, serving up meatloaf or chicken tetrazzini or spaghetti that was whipped up that morning? Unfortunately, they don't.

Because of rising labor costs, lunch ladies don't cook from scratch very much anymore. A survey by the School Nutrition Association found that over 80 percent of schools cook less than half of their main dishes from scratch. And almost 40 percent of schools cook fewer than one-fourth of their entrees from scratch.

So where does the rest of the food come from? Commodity processing, of course! The government donates about $7 billion a year to school cafeterias for commodities, like flour, chicken, tomato paste, etc. That doesn't sound so bad, eh? But to make their dollars stretch further, the USDA gave the green light for these commodities to be processed, meaning that chicken could now become a chicken nugget.

Another problem facing school lunches has to do with per-meal reimbursement. Currently, the government reimburses schools $2.57 for every free meal served, $2.17 for every reduced-lunch, and $0.24 for every paid lunch they serve. The problem comes in that only about 70% of kids eligible for a free lunch actually buy one. That means the schools are struggling to sell more meals to kids eligible for free and reduced lunches. How can you sell more? By offering things they want, not need, like pizza, chicken nuggets, burgers, burritos and such.

As we watch the childhood obesity numbers rise, it baffles the mind that such a crazy, broken system survives... but it goes to show that it's not all the school districts' fault, either. They're stuck between a rock and hard place! So it did my heart some good to flip through those photos of made-from-scratch vegetarian curry and cucumber boats.

Cool Front!

This morning, I was totally inspired by my friend Jill's blog entry. She wrote about how excited she is about fall, her favorite season. Jill has always been a great friend, and I'm beginning to think that our senior year at college as roommates provided us with a telepathic sense about one another... Just last night I was flipping through my new issue of "Taste of Home" and talking to Kendall about how much I love fall cooking!

We are experiencing a bit of a cool down here in Central Texas, and while those braving ACL Festival will probably need their umbrella, a slicker and some galoshes this weekend, Kendall and I are facing another conundrum. We were scheduled to go on a day trip with his family to a winery or maybe Luckenbach, but it looks like we're rained out. We are now looking for indoor ideas, and Kendall thought it might be simplest to invite everyone over to our casa for boardgames and chit-chat. So now I'm thinking of a scrumptious lunch menu! I want it to be simple, healthy and yummy. I was thinking of a build-your-own-sandwich bar and a vegetable-broth based soup and some cookies. But I'm looking for soup and cookie ideas! Help!

Gotta New Drug

Today turned out to be most productive. After the usual breakfast of cereal and milk, I readied myself for an appointment with my new dermatologist. I sought out a new doctor who specializes in psoriasis. I was really impressed with his knowledge, and we decided to start a new drug. He addressed all of my concerns about side effects and risks, and so we're in the process of getting my new prescription filled! I hope this provides some much-needed relief, especially as I head into winter, when my psoriasis gets dry and itchier.

After my appointment, I decided to spend the rest of my morning off in a healthy way, so I went for a short run instead of parking myself in front of "The View" with another cup of coffee. Then I showered, and threw together a light lunch of a Caprese-inspired salad stack on wheat crackers (1 serv veggies, 1 serv dairy, 1 serv grains), yogurt with dried cranberries and honey (1 serv dairy, 1 serv fruit) and a glass of juice (1 serv fruit).

Crackers have a thick slice of tomato, a bit of mozzarella cheese and a pit of pesto. The remainders of the tomato and shredded mozzarella is in the plastic bowl with more pesto.

Then I headed to the office for a little work and a meeting. I made my way back home and started on a Moroccan-style stew with acorn squash, tomatoes, and chickpeas (2 serv veggies) served over couscous (1 serv grain). It was delish! Now I'm ready for a walk with the hubby and relaxing with Grey's Anatomy... and perhaps a cup of herbal tea to usher in the cool front!

Moroccan-Style Stew with Couscous

1 acorn squash, cooked a bit (I pierced and microwaved it last night) and cubed
1 14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
1 14.5 oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1/2 large red onion, diced
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 t ground cinnamon
1/4-1/2 t cumin
dash of cayenne
salt to taste
1 C couscous
2.5 C boiling water or broth

Saute the onion in the oil over medium heat. Add the squash (should be a bit undercooked yet). Let this cook over medium-high heat for a minute or two, and then add the tomatoes and the juices. Bring to a boil. Lower heat to a simmer, covered, and stir occasionally for 10-15 minutes. Add chickpeas, stir, and let simmer for another 5 min or so. At this time, you can add the boiling water or broth to the dry couscous, cover, and let sit. Add cinnamon, cumin, cayenne and salt. Let simmer for a min, then taste and adjust spices to your liking. Fluff couscous with a fork. Serve stew over hot cooked couscous.

Menu, Please.

Now that ads are out, I am busy planning our menu for next week. I recommed this for those that are watching what they eat and/or watching their budget. Besides, it relaxes me and I think it's fun to piece together sale items into a yummy week of food.

I found a great butternut squash soup recipe that is simple, and I have everything but the squash! I also found an inspiring recipe of spaghetti squash with walnut pesto. I think I might add some fresh tomatoes (just warmed) and grilled chicken and maybe a quick bread.


We had our usual breakfast of cereal with milk, but I had a bit more cereal than usual (1.5 serv grains, 1 serv milk). For lunch, a turkey sandwich w/ tomatoes, red onions and mayo (2 serv grains, 1 serv meat, 1 serv veggies) plus some green bell pepper sticks on the side and a pear (1 serv veggies, 1 serv fruit). At work, we had a healthy potluck for Active for Life. I totally spaced on bringing a dish, but still had to take a peak at the table. I loaded up on some carrots and broccoli (1 serv veg) with about 1 tsp ranch, watermelon and grapes (1 serv fruit), a great quinoa-cranberry salad (.25 serv grains), and about 3 HUGE tortilla chips with some (1 Tbsp) of Heather's famous dip (olives, cheddar cheese and sour cream). Dinner was a repeat of last night's spaghetti with meat sauce and asparagus.

We went for a lovely walk, as usual, and I just booked my tickets to Portland! I'm so excited to eat my weight in salmon and taste some great microbrews.

Let the Games Begin!

It's Wednesday, which means that grocery ads are out. In preparation for our new $40/week goal, I have spent some time scouring the sales. I put all the good deals on food we like on one piece of paper. I even repeated some of the same sales at different stores, in case we can stop by one more conviently than the other. Next up, I need to plan our menu for the week and make the big list.

It turned out to be a good week to start this little project-- there are some great deals in Austin on produce! Asparagus for $1.25/lb, a 10 lb. sack of potatoes for $2.50, brown rice for $.69/lb, and apples at $.39/lb. It's pear and squash season, so we'll have plenty of goodies to eat. Onions are also on sale, so I might buy quite a few to help add some flavor to everything.

Spaghetti and butternut squash are on sale, and I'm wondering if I want to try my hand at butternut squash soup, and if we are too tired of spaghetti from this week. I suppose I could try a different recipe with the spaghetti squash. Maybe use some of my homemade pesto and dash of white wine?

We have a decently stocked kitchen to begin with. In terms of protein, we have frozen chicken, salmon and octopus in the freezer, and a few cans of beans, some lentils and dried beans in the pantry. We also have rice (long- and medium- grain white and jasmine), some plain couscous, and some pasta. We are short on canned tomato sauce and diced tomatoes. I just got a pound of white flour last night and we have some wheat flour yet. We have a bit of olive oil hanging around, and some sesame oil. We have condiments galore, and about every time of vinegar you could think of, and a good smattering of spices. We also have lots of block cheese, mozzerella and cheddar, that I bought on sale two weeks ago. I think we have about 10 eggs left. And we have plenty of cereal, and plain oatmeal. So I think our main focus will be produce this week, plus some milk.

Any ideas are welcome! Post recipes, make suggestions!

Tempering Tempura

A few weeks ago, Kendall and I had a mad hankering for some Japanese fare. Kendall spent 9 months in Japan, and craves it from time to time. Obviously, it was time for a trip to our local Japanese grocer, Asahi Imports. The store is small, but stuffed with all sorts of yummy treats! We picked up instant miso soup, vegetable curry sauce, ramen, snack nori, some furikake, and some tempura batter mix! This was going to be good.

It was raining and cool (yay!) so we started the evening off with some miso soup. After a crazy hunt for a decent skimmer for our frying adventure, we settled in and started chopping veggies, rinsing shrimp and octopus, and drying them. Then we mixed the batter, dipped the food, and started frying.

The results were delicious. We ate and ate until we were stuffed. We paired it with a nice chilled Chardonnay from California, which was refreshing, crisp, and a little sweet against the hot tempura. Not the most healthy meal, for sure, but a really great adventures. Behold! Photos:

Squid: dry it before you fry it, people!

Soak it up!

Tempura Success!

DIY Pesto

We recently got some rain in Central Texas, and my basil is beautiful! I wanted to take advantage of its new green foliage, so I made two batches of pesto this weekend. I picked about 2 C of basil leaves, and there is still plenty out there and more rain in the forecast! I'm going to try to make some more this weekend and freeze it.

This batch is a bit dry. If you look closely, you can see that the top layer of basil is a bit browned, but what's under (and in the spoon in this shot) is bright green. I tried to prevent this by sealing it with olive oil, but because I didn't use enough oil to begin with, it just soaked in. We also have lots of sage in our garden, so I might try some sage pesto. You can use any herb you like!

Laura's Pesto
1 C fresh basil (or other herb)
2 large cloves garlic, smashed
About 1/3 C Parmesan
About 1 oz. walnuts (Or any nut! I've used pecans with delicious results, or you can opt for the more traditional pinenut.)
Olive oil (I used enough to wet the leaves and help it blend smoothly, but I needed more. I'd estimate 1/3 C to 1/2 C of oil would work. But I recommend eyeing it until it gets to your preferred consistency.)

Combine in a food processor and pulse until a paste; you can make it as chunky or as smooth as you like.

Serve with just about anything. Enjoy!