I don’t often get a true day “off”. Even when I’m not busy doing prenatals and postpartums, not getting called away to a birth, doing home visits…there’s still plenty to do with paperpwork, birth certificates, MANA stats, interview packets, restocking – and that’s just WORK work! There’s also laundry that’s been waiting, kids that miss you…all the other house stuff that piles up. So oftentimes a ‘day off’ is a ‘day to catch up’.
BUT! When I DO get a day off, it can be wonderful. Spending time with my kids can often take a huge priority, but another thing I love to do is cook! Yes…you heard that right – I love to cook! I usually spend my day or two at home cooking up enough food to feed the family for the next few days when I’ll likely be busy and won’t have time to cook.
My 7 year old son admires an anaheim chili pepper in our garden - cilantro and basil behind him
Despite how many hours I work each week, my kids are very familiar with made-from-scratch foods. We have a garden in the back yard and I have so much fun coming up with new ways to use the ingredients we are able to gather – cilantro and basil were used in a healthy pesto a few nights ago (with spinach, garlic, feta cheese…YUM!), zucchini was made into some yummy bread.
But I also like to find ways to make as much from scratch as I can because it tastes better, is healthier…and I realized at one point that if there was a big crisis in the world, I would forever miss some of my favorite treats like pasta and bread. SO…I learned how to make my own!!
Homemade tortillas are crazy easy to make and so much better than store bought! Last night’s dinner was homemade chicken noodle soup – and my kids ate it up! Heck, my 5 year old ate 3 bowls! (I was worried she would make her tummy hurt) Homemade noodles were easy and delicious and really ‘made’ the dish even more than the fresh cut carrots, celery, and onions.
My current favorite things to make….
BREAD:
I found a recipe for Hawaiian sweet bread that is to DIE for! I also make the sandwich bread because all of the bread in normal grocery stores have high fructose corn syrup and I am trying to limit that. This past 2 weeks my kids have had Hawaiian sweet bread, white bread, bacon and sundried tomatoes bread, Italian herb bread…oh, and zucchini bread!
TORTILLAS:
Corn and flour…both are super easy, both are yummy!!
DRIED BEANS:
This week we had black bean and brown rice soup (with fresh cilantro from our garden), and baked beans with diced ham made with navy beans and a home stock I made.
PIZZA:
Homemade dough – so good! Can be as healthy or as unhealthy as you feel like being that day….but there’s something really cool about making a pizza with your kids and watching their creativity come out as they ‘decorate’ their pizza! We could have pizza for a month straight and never have two that were the same. Breakfast pizza….dessert pizza….love it!
I know that the people that read my blog come to read about pregnancy and births and all things midwifery – but I am more than just a midwife. I’m a wife, mother, friend….and apparently amateur chef!!
So if you’re still reading….care to share your favorite made-from-scratch recipe? I especially love recipes for things that we normally buy in the store but that you make homemade anyways because it turns out better…?
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Please publish some of your recipes???
Since I’ve already been asked…
BASIL/CILANTRO PESTO RECIPE
1 pound bowtie pasta
1 cup lightly packed basil leaves
3/4 cup packed cilantro leaves
1/2 cup steamed fresh spinach, well drained
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 cloves of garlic
1 1/4 teaspoons sea salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6-8 ounces feta cheese
put all (but cheeses) into food processor and pulse until well chopped. Add both cheeses and pulse until it’s a nice this pesto consistency. Put over cooked bowtie pasta.
PIZZA CRUST RECIPE
Ingredients
* 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
* 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
* 1 1/2 cups warm water (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
* 1 teaspoon salt
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 3 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
Directions
1. In a large bowl, dissolve the yeast and brown sugar in the water, and let sit for 10 minutes.
2. Stir the salt and oil into the yeast solution. Mix in 2 1/2 cups of the flour.
3. Turn dough out onto a clean, well floured surface, and knead in more flour until the dough is no longer sticky. Place the dough into a well oiled bowl, and cover with a cloth. Let the dough rise until double; this should take about 1 hour. Punch down the dough, and form a tight ball. Allow the dough to relax for a minute before rolling out. Use for your favorite pizza recipe.
4. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). If you are baking the dough on a pizza stone, you may place your toppings on the dough, and bake immediately. If you are baking your pizza in a pan, lightly oil the pan, and let the dough rise for 15 or 20 minutes before topping and baking it.
5. Bake pizza in preheated oven, until the cheese and crust are golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes.
I made the most simple, most delicious and healthy recipe ever last night!
Potato Leek Soup
* 1 bunch leeks (about 4) dark green stems removed
* 1/2 white onion, chopped
* 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes
* 1 tbsp flour
* 1 tbsp butter
* 4 cups fat free chicken stock (or vegetable broth for vegetarians)
* 1/2 cup 2% milk
* salt and fresh pepper
Wash leeks very carefully to remove all grit. I usually cut them horizontally and separate the rings to make sure no dirt remains. Coarsely chop them when washed.
In a medium soup pot, melt butter and add flour on low flame. Using a wooden spoon, mix well. This will thicken your soup and give it a wonderful flavor.
Add chicken stock, leeks, onion, potatoes and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer on low for about 20-25 minutes, until potatoes are soft. Using an immersion blender, blend the soup until smooth adding the milk and adjusting salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. We had it with french bread. SOOO YUMMY!
And my personal favorite is baked oatmeal. So much better than any other kind of oatmeal from a box.
Baked Oatmeal
3 cups rolled
–1/2 cup brown sugar
–2 tsp cinnamon
–2 tsp baking powder
–1 tsp salt
–1 cup milk
–2 eggs
–2 tsp vanilla
–1/4 cup butter, melted
–3/4 cup dried fruit (I use cranberries and apricots)
3/4 cup nuts (I use walnuts)
I used a 4 quart round crockpot.
Mix all the ingredients together in the crockpot. I dumped in all the dry stuff, then added the melted butter and milk. Stir well with a spoon—make sure the baking powder gets dispersed evenly.
Cover and cook on low for 2-4 hours, checking every so often. This is done when the edges are brown and are beginning to crust, and the center is set. An inserted knife should come out clean. YUM-O!
And can I just say Stephanie that if I got to pick one day to spend with someone to see what they do, I would pick you. Whether you were “working” or not.
Swedish Pancakes (nothing like a pancake, its big and puffy and light)
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
3 tbsp butter
1/8 tsp or dash of salt
pinch of nutmeg if you have it
Heat oven to 425F
Melt butter in round cake pan to grease it then add the liquid butter to the other ingredients in a mixing bowl. Mix it all til smooth then pour into the cake pan (8 or 9in pan works best).
Bake 15-20min until puffy and golden brown.
The edges will be brown and the inside will be yellow and golden. The cake will deflate after a few minutes.
I top mine with lemon juice and powdered sugar (which I now mix into a paste to aviod the mess of powder)
but others use fruit or jams, I’m sure it would even be good with more savory toppings too.
Someday I will experiment with gluten free flours to recreate this recipe, darn celiac disease robbed me of this one. I remember my family making this when I was very young and I miss it terribly. If I found myself on my deathbed certain that gluten poisoning wouldn’t matter anymore, this would absolutely be my final meal. Until then I guess I better start mixing up safe flours!
My family loves baked potato soup. It’s super simple.
Cut into small pieces and brown as much bacon as you feel isn’t totally and unabashedly gluttonous. [We usually use most of a pound.] Remove the bacon to a plate and reserve the grease.
Chop one onion and sautee in bacon fat till translucent.
Add 2 cloves of chopped garlic and cook until fragrant [30 seconds oughta do it]
Add 2 – 3 pounds chopped russet potatoes along with 2 quarts homemade chicken stock. Simmer until potatoes are very tender.
Blend the entire contents of the pot with an immersion blender.
Add 8 oz shredded cheddar cheese and stir to melt – DO NOT BOIL.
Thin soup with milk, water or cream if necessary.
Add salt, pepper and fresh thyme to taste. How much salt you need will depend on your stock.
Ladle soup into bowl. Top with sour cream, crispy bacon and scallions.
We like ours with some nice crusty bread. But, then, we are irreverently carb loving at this house.
Oo I LOVE IT!! This is my first year having a garden with a yield worth mentioning and I LOVE IT! Since you love cooking and love gardening… Doesn’t cooking with what you grew make you so HAPPY???? It does me. My garden is my prozac
My FAVORITE way to cook the huge amount of zucchini we had this year is to cut it up into rounds, slice several tomatoes and equal portions of onions. I toss them in oil and salt… maybe some garlic powder and white pepper, roast on 350 in the oven for about 30-40 minutes, or until the veggies start to caramelize and wrinkle just a bit. Then I pull it out and serve it on rice – or eat it plain. LOVE IT!
Thanks for sharing… I love hearing about all sides of you
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