It's Soup Swap time again!

Last year's soup swap was so fun, I decided to try it again.

Like last time, the soup swap was an add-on to our monthly Bunco - those who wanted to participate just came a little early.  Some of the same cooks as last year and some new ones as well!

What is a soup swap?  It's just like a cookie exchange, but with less guilt.  ;-)
And really, so practical.  Cookies are fantastic - but they are an indulgence.  Soup - well, that is just dinner that someone else cooked for me.  Who doesn't like that?

This year there were eight of us participating, so that means we each took home seven different types of  frozen, homemade soup.  Each take-home container is one-quart.  Now, I know one of these quarts isn't enough to feed a family - but it will feed my husband and I whilst the kiddos have canned chicken noodle (their preference anyway).  Or, it will feed just me 2-3 times for lunch.  I like that option, too.
A third option for a family is to serve up two of the varieties at the same time.
Anyway you serve it up, mama's happy.

To add to the fun, there is a prize ($10 gift card) awarded to the "best dressed" soup. Lots of contenders this year!  Several beautiful soups and even one batch (Chili) decorated by lovely little Maisie (Mine said "It's been a bit chili lately…).  If you look closely at the pictures, you'll see Kristin's soup has make-up on the top.   Why? (We all wanted to know.)  Apparently, in the front of her mom's old Betty Crocker or Pillsbury cookbook, there were several pages dedicated to the proper way to look beautiful and be prepared for your husband's homecoming from work and dinner being served.  Ah-ha-ha! Not quite the way in goes in my house, but the story was fantastic.

In the end, the prize went to Camille's Chicken Tortilla Soups all decorated up for a fiesta.

No, that isn't canned soup you see peeking out of the bag.
That is the optional diced green chilies that Camille provided.

This year, our group made:
- Wild Rice Soup
- Traditional Chili
- Vegetarian Chili
- Chicken Pot Pie Soup
- Chicken Tortilla Soup
- Tomato Basil
- Butternut Squash with Coconut Curry
- Hearty Vegetable

We have already eaten one of the soups (delish!) and I'm sure I'll be thawing another for later this week.
What a treat to have on hand.  Thank you to my amazing Bunco friends!

If you want more details on how to pull of a Soup Swap of your own, I put all the directions in my post from last year.  Just click here: Soup Swap!

Healthy muffins for a quick breakfast or snack (Dairy Free!) - Part 2

Pumpkins, oh how I love thee!

I love you in pie, in smoothies, in soups, in pancakes and in muffins. I cannot go wrong with pumpkin.  I wish we could (intentionally) grow pumpkins, but they just take up way too much space.  So each year I buy a few pie pumpkins and roast them myself.  Its very easy.

For the second year, a pumpkin has planted itself right outside
our front door.  Can you see the vine and blossoms running
along side the railing? It has at least one pumpkin on it. 

My squirrel-planted pumpkin, grown in the landscaping.
Beautiful, right?

You can buy high quality, delicious canned pumpkin.  No one will ever fault you for that.  But for me, this time of year, I love roasting pumpkins at home.  And because this beauty grew in my landscaping, I knew I just had to.  If you want to give it a try, it is the same procedure as roasting any squash.  If you don't, skip down and try the recipe anyway, with the canned pumpkin.
Note when buying canned pumpkin - some is canned with the seasonings.  If this is the case, omit the pumpkin pie spice from the recipe below. 

Roasting Pumpkins:

- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

- Find and wash a 2-3 lb. pie pumpkin.  Giant carving pumpkins are not tasty. 

- Slice it in half, from the stem to the bottom.

- Remove the seeds and scrape the stringy pulp out. You can save the seeds for roasting - just make sure to clean off all the pulp and set them aside to dry.

- Place the pumpkin halves cut-side down in a 9x13 or similar sized pan.  Fill with 1" of water.

- Place your pumpkin in the oven for 45-55 minutes or until it is fork-tender (very soft).

- Remove from the oven and allow it to cool until you can handle it with your hands.

- The skin of the pumpkin should be very pliable.  You can either peel it off with your fingers or easily scrape the pumpkin out of the shell.  Put it all in the blender with just enough water to blend it (maybe 1/4 cup).  At the time of this photo, I was using a Magic Bullet - so I had to do this in a few takes.  A full sized blender is quicker.  

- Place the purreed pumpkin in baggies (removing all the air) in 1 cup quantities.  Label and freeze flat for later use.  Or of course you can use the pumpkin right away.  See recipe below.

Halved, one half with
seeds removed, one to go.

Roasted.

                                   

Skins - after peeling.

After the pumpkin has cooled, I used a
Magic Bullet, but any method to puree
will work.  Be sure to add a little water
to get a smooth consistency. 

Extra pumpkin bagged and ready to freeze.
Make sure to freeze flat (for easy storage)
and remove all the air before sealing.

One of my FAVORITE recipes.  A great breakfast treat, but passes as a wonderful snack as well:

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

(yield - approx. 18 muffins)

2 cups flour*

1/2 cup sugar

3 tsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

3/4 cup milk or non-dairy substitute (I use almond milk)

1/3 cup oil (I like coconut oil - use in liquid state)

1 egg, beaten

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (cinnamon nutmeg blend will do as well).

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1 cup chocolate chocolate chips**

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 F. I recommend avoiding muffin papers.  You don't need them and they make a  mess.  Just grease your muffin pan.*** 

2.  In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together all of the dry ingredients.  (Note: This is a good time to make up one or two extra batches, since you have all the ingredients out.  Just put the dry ingredients into storage baggies and label.  Put the additional ingredients needed and directions on a sticky note and place inside, or write it on the outside of the bag with a permanent marker.  Now you have your own mix ready to go for another time with way less work!)

3.  In a small bowl, whisk together all of the remaining wet ingredients.  Hand mix (gently) into the dry ingredients.  Don't over mix.  Just until the entire batch is wet and not lumpy.

4. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick (or skewer) comes out clean.  

Cool 5-10 minutes before trying to remove from pan.  Delicious served warm with butter.

I normally leave half the batch out for eating and freeze the other half to take out later.  Again, a large baggie works great - just remember to remove all the air! 

Notes:
* I use my own flour blend of 50% all purpose flour and 50% whole wheat pastry flour.  Whole wheat pastry flour has all the nutritional benefits or regular whole wheat flour, but it is ground more finely and it much more "usable" in baking.  I haven't switched over to 100% whole wheat because it is just too difficult to bake with. The result is very "heavy".  This way, I get the best of both worlds. 
** My daughter is allergic to dairy, so I use high quality chocolate chips that are dairy free.  The Enjoy Life brand also makes dairy free chips.  Both are commonly found in big chain grocery stores. 
*** I really love my Pampered Chef stoneware muffin pan.  You'll see me using it in recipes a lot.  I'm sure there are competitors who sell this as well, if you are interested.  The qualities of the stoneware allow me to bake without muffin liners, which I love.  

Baked to perfection in my Pampered Chef stoneware baking pan.

Ready to eat and oh, so sweet!  Can't wait for breakfast!

Freezing half the batch for later.

Roasting pumpkin seeds is easy.  After you have cleaned out your pie pumpkins or even your carving pumpkins you will have plenty for snacking.  Clean them well to get rid of all the "pumpkin slime".

Pat them dry or allow them to air dry.  There are many many recipes to be found online for seed seasoning.  This year we used one I found on AllRecipes.com.  Here it is:

Mix together:

2 cups clean, dry pumpkin seeds

1 1/2 tbs. melted butter (I used coconut oil)

1 1/2 tsp. worcestershire

1 1/4 tsp. salt

Bake on sheet pan (with sides!) for 90 minutes at 250 F, stirring every 15-20 minutes.  Seeds should be dry when you are done - if not, bake a little longer. 

Enjoy! 

A Mother's Keepsakes

As a girl, then eventually as a woman, I have always been sentimental.  Becoming a mother has has vastly intensified this.  Now, it's not only my keepsakes and my parent's or grandparent's hand-downs, it's also the joys I experienced with my babies that are our filling storage shelves. I have become the curator of their history museums.  Self appointed.
Things breed memories.
For all of us.
But some of us have a more difficult time parting with things - some crazy back part of our brain is telling us that if the thing is gone, so goes with it the memory.

This 'sentimental' part of me is constantly fighting with the 'organized' part of me.
The organized part of me knows that yesterday's things can get in the way of today's life.
Literally.
Tripping over, wading through, pressing aside those "memories" is time consuming and stressful.

This post, however, isn't about why you shouldn't keep everything you or your family has ever owned.  Instead, it's a lovely solution to displaying some of the sentiment that you have decided to keep.

Not too long ago, I found myself in the possession of some of my own baby clothes. At this time, my mom told me the history behind an adorable sweater that I had worn. I too had kept a beautiful sweater that may own daughter had worn.  It was a baby gift from a family friend, purchased at a store that was well out of our budget.  Lily wore it for her first winter - I just couldn't get enough of it.  Realizing I had these two items packed away in bins - never to be enjoyed - I started brainstorming ways to change that.  To complete the set, I asked for and received a sweater that my mom had worn as a baby - it was hand knit by her grandmother.

I love how this project turned out - and it was actually very easy.  Shadow boxes purchased from Michael's Crafts (using the 40% off coupon, of course!).  Sweaters pinned inside.  I purposely chose to have the descriptions hand written because I think that adds to their charm.  My mom wrote about her sweater and I wrote about mine.  Once I had all of the components in one place, this project literally took 30 minutes.  It is admittedly feminine with all the pink so I had to find just the right space.  The display now hangs in our guest room, where I keep many of our family's antiques.

This is Lily's sweater, stick-pinned to the inside of the shadow box.

The final display.  I added a little pair of
matching shoes to my sweater.

Shadow boxes are underutilized in preserving our memories.  Done correctly, they can tug at our heartstrings while being a lovely art statement.  Just think of all the possibilities! 

I love super glue.

There is a surprising little clutter culprit that you can take care of in one morning or afternoon. Its your pile of "things that need fixing".  Well, your pile might be a box or a drawer.  If it's really neglected it might even be a closet full of things.  It's all just sitting there - waiting.  Waiting for you to finally find the time to fix it.

If your "fix it" pile is really large, you may find it is half full of things that you no longer need.   While I wouldn't recommend this system to anyone, if that is you, going through your giant pile might be easier than you think.  You can just toss half of it immediately.

Here is how you start.
1- Put an appointment on your calendar to do this task.  Really.  That gives it importance and you time.

2- Have on hand a needle and thread (white and black), a scissors, a bottle of super glue and a trash can (because if you don't need it, you aren't going to spend time fixing it either….).

3- Just have at it.  Gather all your items (Don't forget to look in the garage!).  Sit at a table and go through each item that needs fixing.  Immediately put it into a new "fix" pile or toss it*.

3- Now go through your "fix" pile.  Sort it into items that you can fix and items you need to have a professional fix (watches that need new batteries, too difficult sewing projects, electronic repairs, etc.).

4- While you are sitting there - fix everything you can.
-- Sew on missing or loose buttons and make all small sewing repairs**.  If you have a machine and know how to use it, plan to get those bigger projects done next.

-- Get out your super glue and go to town.  I LOVE superglue.  You can fix just about anything with it!   Make sure to use it on a piece of newspaper and be VERY careful to not get it on your fingers***.  (I have done this - it's terrible. My kids would say hilarious, but I say terrible.)   We always have a few bottles of super glue on hand and use it frequently.  Here are a few examples of the many, many things I have repaired or used super glue on:

The heads fell off this mahogany statue
my husband purchased in Africa.

The corner of my iPhone
silicon case ripped.

My daughter's clay money lost
a couple of limbs. (This is the one
that I glued myself to…) 

I made an iPad stand using a business
card holder, some rug/shelf liner and
a tiny wooden shoe. It works great!

iPad stand in action.

I made this necklace storage frame
(see previous post) by gluing little
hooks to the glass.

5- When you are done fixing everything you can - PUT IT AWAY.

6- Now take a look at that pile of things you can't fix.  Take the time right now to find out where to get the repairs done.  Call around. Find out how much it will cost and decide if it's something you want to do.  If it's not - get rid of it.  If it is, set it aside.  Once you have all of your items ready and know where to bring them, GO.  Go right now - make an errand of it, dropping off everything for repairs.

7- Take a look around and take a deep breath.  Isn't it nice to have all that broken stuff fixed or gone? Think of how much money you saved by fixing some of it, rather than replacing it! And next time, deal with these items as they break.




Notes:
* Batteries and most electronics cannot be thrown into the trash.  They will leech hazardous chemicals into our ground water.  In our city, we can recycle batteries at the library and we can bring hazardous waste to a specific drop-off location.  If you need to do this - add it to step 6!  Get it done!
** Sewing on a button is VERY easy.  You don't want to be throwing out clothes or spending money on a tailor for this simple task.  See here: http://www.wikihow.com/Sew-a-Button  
or this great link that shows you how to do all sorts of mini- repairs on clothing: http://www.wikihow.com/Fix-Clothes
***I have (embarrassingly) super glued myself to a few of my projects when the glue came out quicker than I expected, or started to run while I was  holding something together and didn't notice it.  Its actually pretty scary - so be careful!  I had the best luck by soaking my hand in warm water for a while, but here are some other suggestions just in case:  http://www.wikihow.com/Remove-Super-Glue

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Tamara Nugteren

Homemade oatmeal bars - The best part of my day.

Tamara Nugteren




This is my very own concocted recipe and I'm quite proud of how it turned out.
It is both wheat and dairy free and full of other great ingredients - without tasting like cardboard.  Delicious in fact!

I know in the last year or so, homemade oatmeal treat recipes have become increasingly popular, but I would just like to say that I have been making this one for years.  I started experimenting with it when my children were very young, with the desire of feeding them better foods.  This has given me plenty of time to tweak the original recipe and come up with many other tasty versions.

Below is the "base recipe".
I will list variations at the bottom of the page, but feel free to come up with some of your own as well!

Not only are there endless ingredient variations, but there are also several baking variations.
I most commonly bake this recipe in a stoneware muffin pan, but you can also do it in two 8x8's, a 9x13 or even spread thin on a cookie sheet.  You will just need to adjust the baking time (more on that later.)

This recipe also makes a fantastic dry mix.  I often make up several extra batches of the dry mix for my pantry or to give as a gift for teachers, friends or anyone else. Just make sure to include the list of wet ingredients that will need to be added later along with the baking instructions if you gift it away.

Base recipe - Tamara's Homemade Oatmeal Bars
(Healthy enough for breakfast, yummy enough for snacks)

- 1 1/2 c. rolled oats; old fashioned - NOT quick cooking.*
- 1/2 c. oatmeal flour **
- 1/4 c. ground roasted soy nuts **
- 1/4 c. ground flax **
- 1/4 c. brown sugar ***
- 1/4 tsp. salt
- 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Mix the above ingredients well, by hand, with a whisk.
If you are making dry mixes, stop here.  Put it into some appropriately sized zip-seal baggies and squeeze out all the extra air.  Mark your dry mixes well - Sharpies work great, as does just dropping a post-it note with the rest of the instructions inside.

Dry ingredients

Next - the wet ingredients:
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 cup applesauce (or two individual 4 oz. servings, if you buy it that way.)
- 2 T. oil of your choosing (something not to flavorful - coconut or a vegetable oil is best.)
- 1-3 T. water (start low, add more if your mix is dry after you add in your variations below.)

If you are baking up the batch, now is when you can add in your family's favorite ingredients.
I always start with 1/2 - 1 full bag of chocolate chips.  For my daughter, I buy dairy-free chips. Whole Life makes a dairy free variety (sold at Target), Ghirardelli Semi-Sweet are also dairy-free or you could do a high quality dark chocolate.

(Above) Adding in the wet ingredients 

(Above) Moist, but sticks together well.
I filled my 12 cup pan with about 2/3 of this batter.

(Above) Each muffin cup was 2/3- 3/4 full.

At this point, I divide up my batter to tailor it to my family's diverse tastes.
 - For my daughter I make a portion with dried cranberries.
 - For my son, no cranberries but peanut butter.  (The entire recipe would call for 1 cup of peanut butter.  Less if you are doing a half, third or quarter batch.)
 - For myself, I add coconut and chopped walnuts into the base recipe.
There are not specific amounts that I use - just add in what looks good to you, but keep the base recipe moist.  For a reference point, into a whole recipe you would end up with no more than an additional 1 cup of dry ingredients, not including the chocolate chips or peanut butter.
If your recipe seems too dry, add in 1/4 cup of water.

Chopped walnuts and shredded coconut for me.
I made the first 12 in the muffin tin and added about
1 cup of these ingredients to the remainder of the batter.

After adding in the walnuts and the coconut shred,
I was able to make an additional 7 bars in the muffin pan.
So in this batch, I ended up with 19 bars total.
12 chocolate chip and 7 chocolate chip/walnut/coconut. 

Baking:
The baking times can vary greatly based on your pan and your preference for doneness.  There are no safety concerns with under baking (no eggs or raw meats) so go with what you like.  You will have to experiment a bit each time.

If you use a stoneware pan, you should heat it with the oven, then pull it out and fill it for the best results.  Stoneware also takes a bit longer to bake because it it so much thicker than a metal or glass pan.

I prefer moist and thick, my husband likes the bars to be baked longer and more "done".  If you use a cookie sheet, your bars will be much thinner than if you use another type of pan, and you will want to make sure they are a bit tougher so they hold together.

Here are some guidelines:
Always grease whatever pan you use for the best result.  Also always let your bars cool fully before removing them from your pan or they may fall apart.

- 8x8 pans will take approximately 30-40 minutes and the result will be a thick bar.
- A 9x13 pan will bake about 25-30 minutes and the bars will be about 1 1/2 " thick.
- My pre-heated stoneware muffin pan bakes for 30 minutes - I add an extra 5 minutes if they are for my husband, he prefers them crunchier.  This recipe makes 12-18 servings in a muffin pan, depending on your add-ins.
- A standard cookie sheet will bake about 15 minutes.
- No matter your type of muffin pan, grease it well and don't use the paper liners.  You don't need them.
Please remember to watch the first few times you bake as your experience may be slightly different.
If they turn out too soft, add a 5 minutes next time.  If they are too tough, take a few minutes away.

Enjoy! I'd love to hear about your results.

(Above) Finished product - plain variety "AKA chocolate chip.

(Above) Finished product - chocolate chip/walnut/coconut.
I love how the exposed coconut gets all toasty on top!

Notes:
* Bob's Red Mill makes a guaranteed gluten-free oatmeal if you need that.
** I grind the oatmeal to make a flour, the soy nuts and whole flax in my blender.  You could also use a Magic Bullet, Nutri-Bullet or something similar.  Flax can also be purchased pre-ground.
*** I have not found a great substitute for the brown sugar.  It has the right texture for this recipe.  My daughter cannot have honey or agave, so I haven't tried that, but I think the liquid may change the out come anyway.  If you try that and it works well, let me know. The amount of sugar in this recipe is pretty low, however if your add-ins are naturally sweet, you may be able to leave it out entirely.  My kids don't love it without the added sweetness at this point - maybe when they are older.

Healthy Muffins for a quick breakfast or snack (dairy free, too!)

Tamara Nugteren




Zucchinis and pumpkins are sure signs of fall.

Zucchinis have never been one of my favorite foods, but I'm learning new ways to eat them as I get older.  This year, for the first time, I actually used zucchinis in roasted vegetable blends for dinner and in stir frys.  A big step for me! It was pretty good, so I'll keep it in the mix.  Savory is new to me, but not sweet.  I've always liked zucchinis that way - but this recipe is SO MUCH BETTER than any version of zucchini bread.  Of course, the trouble with the Autumn harvest is keeping it available to use all winter.  Especially if you are lucky enough to grow them or have someone who loves you growing them.

Saving zucchinis for baking isn't hard - it just takes a little time.  Do a bunch at once and you'll have a winter's worth for baking. Here are my zucchini totals - just so you know what you might get:

This year, I purchased zucchinis.  I could only find
the small ones, but larger ones work just as well.

12 small Zucchini = 14-16 cups shredded = 11 1-cup portions (water and air squeezed out.)

Grating.

Grated zucchini has a lot of moisture in it.
Squeeze and drip it out through a colander.

One cup portions, drained and zipped up in baggies.
Get as much air out as possible. 

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins (Dairy Free)
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup flour*
- 3/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup cocoa powder
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tsp. cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp. salt
(Consider making extra batches of the dry ingredients, zipping it up into baggies and putting it into your pantry for next time!)

Wet ingredients
- 1/2 cup milk or milk substitute; I use unsweetened almond milk.
- 2 tsp. vinegar (omit if using regular milk)
- 1/4 cup oil (vegetable, canola or coconut)
- 1 egg, beaten
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1/2 c. boiling water
- 1 cup shredded zucchini
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I use dairy free.  Trader Joes and Ghiradelli Semi-Sweets both are.)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease muffin tin and/or liners**.

In a medium bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. (Or, just pull them out of your pantry if you are using some you have set aside from earlier!)  In another bowl, whisk together all wet ingredients EXCEPT zucchini and chocolate chips. Pour wet mixture and dry mixture together and blend thoroughly.  Mixture will be very thin.  Stir in the zucchini.

Fill muffin cups 3/4 full.  These muffins don't raise much, so if you shouldn't have any problems with overflowing.

My favorite muffin pan - Pampered Chef stoneware.

The batter is REALLY thin.  Don't worry.

Drop the chocolate chips onto the top of the filled muffin cups by hand - the mixture is so thin that if you do it earlier in the process they just sink to the bottom of the bowl and you don't get them evenly into each muffin.  Or at all.

Ready to go in the oven - see the chocolate chips on top?
Some will sink in - even better.

The final product - moist, chocolatey and utterly delicious.

I had more muffin batter than would fit into 12 cups, so
I'm using the extra to make "muffin tops".  A little frosting
between two and I have homemade Whoopie Pies!

Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  These are extra moist muffins!

Eat some now...

... and freeze some for later.

I call this breakfast OR snack. Yum.

Notes:
* I use my own flour blend of 50% all purpose flour and 50% whole wheat pastry flour.  Whole wheat pastry flour has all the nutritional benefits or regular whole wheat flour, but it is ground more finely and it much more "usable" in baking.  I haven't switched over to 100% whole wheat because it is just too difficult to bake with. The result is very "heavy".  This way, I get the best of both worlds. 
** I really love my Pampered Chef stoneware muffin pan.  You'll see me using it in recipes a lot.  I'm sure there are competitors who sell this as well, if you are interested.  The qualities of the stoneware allow me to bake without muffin liners, which I love.