Chocolate Dipped Strawberries

I guess I'm still in the Valentines day mood because I just can't get enough of making (and eating yum yum) chocolate dipped strawberries. Not only are they easy, but they look beautiful and taste amazing. AND they're somewhat healthy (at least that's what I tell myself as I grab my fifth or sixth ha).

I thought you had to have dipping chocolate to make them, but then I found a great recipe for making them with plain old chocolate chips, yay. I don't have a double boiler, so I just used two saucepans to melt the chocolate chips...fancy eh?

Before I melted the chocolate I had the strawberries all rinsed and ready to be dipped. I didn't have any white chocolate so I found some white sprinkles to make them 'prettier'. Once the chocolate was melted I just transferred it to a small but deep dish and started dipping!

I covered as much of the strawberry as I could in the chocolate and then sort of twisted them as I pulled them out to catch the drips. You have to work somewhat quickly since the chocolate thickens quickly and makes it harder to coat the strawberries. 

It took them about an hour or maybe a little more to harden enough to transfer to a different plate. They probably would have hardened quicker in the fridge but I hate cold strawberries so I just waited patiently while they hardened on the counter. It was worth the wait too, they were so so good!

grocery shopping, planning and budgeting

Grocery shopping. It's something I both love and hate to do.

There's something so therapeutic for me in walking slowly through the store, looking at all the items just waiting on the shelves. No matter how many times I've seen the aisles of Fred Meyer, I still love to explore them and see if there's anything I 'need' waiting there for me. I add things to my cart more freely at the beginning of the trip, then slowly put things back as I linger longer and longer in the store, thinking, I don't really need this...or that...or that. My family teases me about this, but I know I can't be the only one who does this!

I don't really plan out meals, and so sometimes grocery shopping can be tough. I've tried to plan meals in the past, but it just doesn't work for us. Steve's work schedule is just too irregular, and I hate for food to be wasted when he has to work late and picks up food on the way home. I usually have a few meals in my mind at the beginning of the week, and often I'll pick a recipe or two that I want to make, so I add the ingredients to my grocery list. But that's as far as my 'meal planning' goes.

I also tend to buy lots of one item I know we use a lot when it's on sale, such as peanut butter, bread, or frozen fruit, so I've had trouble with figuring out a weekly budget amount for groceries. Some weeks we spend less than $50, and other weeks (that include Costco runs) we spend $200-$300. I feel like everything balances out for us and that we've been getting better and better about eating whole foods (rather than boxed or 'convenience' meals) and eating out less, so we're in a good place financially when it comes to our food budget. But I'm always open to ideas on how we can save even more, or be more efficient about grocery shopping/planning.

How do you go about grocery planning, budgeting and shopping? I'd love to hear about the different ways other mamas do things!

Groceries are expensive up here in Alaska and since we chose to purchase organic options when available that adds even more to our bill. I was curious to see how our prices compare to others around the country (and in other countries!) and so I thought I'd share this weeks grocery trip purchases and bill with you. We spent $52.01 including tax for everything you see in the picture, and you can see the individual prices on the receipt. What do you think? How do these prices compare to how things are prices where you live?

perfect french toast

I love breakfast food. I think it's my favorite type of food there is. Waffles, pancakes, scrambled eggs, toast, it's all sooooo good and satisfying. But perhaps the best of all is french toast. I love how many different ways you can make french toast, with different types of breads and toppings. 

This is a new recipe that I tried and simply loved. It's a great, basic, perfect recipe for classic french toast. It only utilizes egg yolks which is the first time I've seen that in a recipe for FT. And it's from Ree (the Pioneer Woman) so you know it's going to be good. 

As previously mentioned, you need eggs, yolk only (I added my extra whites to the scrambled eggs I was also making). You also need whole milk or half&half if you have it.

Then you'll need some vanilla and sugar and cinnamon (I added the cinnamon - you always need cinnamon).

Also new for me was dipping all the bread and letting is sit on a pan before starting it on the griddle. Not sure the reason for this, but since my FT turned out perfect, I'll keep doing it!

Let some butter get bubbly and nearly brown on the griddle.

Then add as many slices of bread that you can.

Let it cook over medium heat until golden, about 4 minutes for me.

Then flip and repeat on the other side.

Add more butter for the rest of the slices (each time you add more slices to the pan you need more butter). I turned the oven on to about 200 degrees and put the finished slices in there to keep warm while the rest were finishing up.

Finally, enjoy your delicious and perfect french toast with some more butter, warm maple syrup, and a dash of cinnamon or powdered sugar.

Perfect French Toast (I halved this recipe since it was just Steve, me and Riggs)

12 slices wheat sandwich bread, or 1 loaf crusty bread
4 whole egg yolks
2 cups whole milk or half-and-half
1 TBS sugar
2 tsp vanilla
zest of one lemon (optional)
butter for pan (about 3-4 TBS)

1. if using crust bread, cut into slices about 1/2" thick.
2. in a dish, mix together egg yolks, milk/h&h, sugar, (cinnamon!), lemon zest (if using) and vanilla. whisk to combine.
3. dip bread slices in mixture, coating both sides, then remove from dish and set aside. repeat until all bread is coated.
4. heat iron skillet or griddle over medium heat (I used a large stainless steel sauce pan for this since I don't have an iron griddle that's functional right now). add 1 TBS of butter before each 'batch' of bread. cook french toast on both sides until golden.

[original source]

summer's almost over, time to make Fireweed Jelly

The fireweed are almost completely bloomed out, which in Alaska means that summer is nearly over, fall is basically here, and winter is on its way. Riggs and I went on a long walk yesterday to harvest the 8 cups of fireweed blossoms we needed to make our most favorite jelly ever.

Fireweed-Maple Jelly (adapted from here)
8 cups fireweed blossoms (no stems)
1/4 cup lemon juice
4.5 cups water
6 T low/no sugar pectin
1.5 cups granulated sugar
1/5 cup real maple syrup

//pick wash and measure 8 cups of fireweed blossoms.
//add water, lemon juice and blossoms to large saucepan and heat to boiling.
//boil for 10 minutes and then strain, using unbleached cheesecloth.
//pour lukewarm strained juice back into saucepan and whisk in the 6 tablespoons of low/no sugar pectin. Bring to a boil and whisk in sugar and syrup. Bring to roiling boil and boil for 1 minute.
//pour into hot, clean jars and seal (makes about 7 half pints).
//process in a boiling water bath for 10 minutes.
//done!

you need to rinse them really well
there will be lots of bugs and spiders

the fireweed blossoms smell so, so good while they're boiling. 

and then there's that beautiful, hot-pink juice...

I just love this jelly!

This morning we enjoyed delicious toast smothered with that gorgeous, scrumptious fireweed-maple jelly. So good!

healthy turmeric fried rice

I love food that is simple, satisfying and super healthy all at the same time. This healthy recipe for fried rice with turmeric and onion is just that. Fried rice is always satisfying for me, I love the texture of the rice mixed with the egg and veggies. But I'm pretty sure it's not the most healthy thing ever, especially when doused in oils and high-sodium soy sauce (we're not big soy people around our house, this is why).

I'm always looking for a way to use up day-old rice, and fried rice is the perfect solution. We add turmeric to our rice (about 1 tsp per cup of dry rice) because it looks nice and turmeric is an exceptionally healthy spice that we try to include daily in our diet if possible.

the health benefits of turmeric 

source

• used in food and medicine for centuries, turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties which makes it an effective preventative agent against a wide-range of diseases. 
• "Curcumin seems to delay liver damage that can eventually lead to cirrhosis, according to preliminary experimental research at the Medical University Graz in Austria.
• Kansas State University research found that adding certain spices, including turmeric, can reduce the levels of heterocyclic amines -- carcinogenic compounds that are formed when meats are barbecued, boiled or fried -- by up to 40 percent.
• Rodent studies at the University of Texas indicate that curcumin inhibits the growth of a skin cancer, melanoma and also slows the spread of breast cancer into the lungs.
• Researchers from the University of South Dakota have found that pretreatment with curcumin makes cancer cells more vulnerable to chemo and radiotherapy.
• Epidemiologists have hypothesized that the turmeric that is part of daily curries eaten in India may help explain the low rate of Alzheimer's disease in that country. Among people aged 70 to 79, the rate is less than one-quarter that of the United States."

We also try to include onion nearly everyday because it's an inexpensive way to add flavor and onions have a myriad of amazing health benefits as well. Onions (and garlic) have components in them that are thought to lower your risk of cancer and heart disease.

Last night we had some left over rice and I needed to make something quick for Riggs to eat for dinner (Steve and I were having pizza but apparently Riggs doesn't like pizza - what a weirdo). I slapped some coconut oil in the frying pan, and scrambled an egg, then added the rice and some frozen organic peas to the mix. I let it all warm up and added about 1 tablespoon of Braggs Liquid Aminos (some of the only soy we eat, and it's non-GMO and organic) for some flavor. I chopped up some green onions and sprinkled them on top of the fried rice mixture after I had put it on a plate for Riggs. He loved it! And I was happy to have something so easy and healthy to feed him that was using up leftovers too.

Fried Rice with Turmeric and Onion

2 T & 1 tsp organic unrefined coconut oil, separated
1 egg, slightly beaten
3/4-1 cup cooked rice (day old rice works best)
1/4 cup frozen organic peas
1 tsp turmeric (if you didn't include it when cooking your rice)
1 T Braggs Liquid Aminos
chopped green onion to taste

add enough oil to your frying pan/skillet to cover the entire surface, about 11tsp.
scramble the egg then add the rice and peas. stir in the rest of the coconut oil. stir until hot all the way through and then add the turmeric (if needed) and the Braggs. Add green onion and enjoy!

hearty sweet potato & cinnamon soup

I love soup. Riggs loves soup. Steve's gone a lot. So we have a lot of soup around this house.

When I say soup, I'm not talking about something that comes from a can, either. I'm talking about hearty, homemade soup with lots of veggies and mouth-watering flavor. Mmm, so good!

Often I don't use a recipe, I just whip together whatever we have. We always have onion, carrots and celery around - the base to pretty much any soup. Earlier this week I was in the mood for a hearty soup, and I had some left over cabbage and spinach from dying the easter eggs last week that I wanted to use up too. It turned out so good, especially with a little parmesan cheese to top it off.

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Hearty Sweet Potato Cinnamon Soup
serves 4

2 TBS oil (I use organic unrefined extra virgin coconut oil, extra virgin olive oil would also work great)
1/2 small onion, chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped (leaves too if there are any)
2 medium carrots, chopped
2 cups chopped red cabbage
1 russet potato, cubed (I leave the peel on, you can peel it if you want)
6 cups vegetable broth
1.5-2 cups sweet potato chunks (or these sweet potato puffs from Alexia)
1 can red kidney beans
1-2 cups spinach
1 tsp cinnamon
salt & pepper to taste
parmesan cheese

1 | heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat, I add a little salt while oil is heating to take away any coconut flavor. add onions, celery and carrots and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes.
2 | add cabbage to the onion mixture and cook down until starting to wilt. add potato cubes and cook about 3-5 minutes.

3 | in a medium soup pot, add vegetable stock and start heating over medium-high heat. add onion mixture to broth.

4 | add beans and sweet potatoes, then cover and simmer until broth thickens a bit, about 30 minutes.

5 | add cinnamon and spinach, stir until spinach is incorporated. let sit about 15 minutes before serving. add parmesan to each serving and enjoy!

ps - I just made this up as I went, so feel free to tweak this to fit your family's needs. I love soup!