All the cool people are doing it! Like Italians and Greeks...and stuff.Dalmas are stuffed grape leaves. Stuffed with what you ask? I'm getting there. We all know the benefits of grapes and wine :) so you can imagine the benefit of eating the actual leaf-go ahead imagine, because there are more than I am going to list. Things like reduction in edema, heart healthy stuff, and only about 2 calories per leaf. Traditionally they would be stuffed with a rice mixture usually containing meat of some sort. Lets just say that when I made them they were gone almost instantly, and I thought I had made enough for a few days-silly me! First of all, where do you find this oddity? I found it at HEB I am sure some Kroger's carry them but I did not find them at the one near us-though I can not seem to find most forms of healthy food there so I am not surprised. Second, prior to making these you will need to do 2 things cook rice (I use whole grain), and blanch the leaves.
To blanch the leaves, remove the amount you will be using-what the heck use the whole jar. Gently un-roll them and lay them out, then place them in boiling water for about 2 minutes. Don't stir just let them be. Carefully remove them from the water and let the leaves cool while you prepare the rice mixture.
Here it goes-Im sorry I dont measure things when experimenting
Zingy Dalmas
Cooked Rice approx 3 cups if you are using the whole jar of leaves
Lemons 2 (reserve 2tsps juice for later)
Italian seasoning
Garlic pepper
sauteed garlic and onion (optional)
olive oil
Mix the seasonings to taste into rice. zest one lemon and mix that in as well. Then squeeze in some good ol lemon juice, again "to taste". Add onion and garlic if using.
Then comes the hard part-rolling! You will use 1-2 TBL of the rice mixture per leaf. Place the mixture in the center of the leaf then fold the side closest to you over the rice. Press down gently to pack the rice snuggly, then fold the sides over (right and left side) then roll forward till it is a snuggly wrapped dalma. Why is this hard? You will find out for yourself once you start, but the leaves tear easy! They are pretty small when finished-about the size of a womans thumb. Place in container and use remaining lemon juice and olive oil to drizzle over dalmas to keep moist and add an extra zing. The reason I do not use salt is that the dalmas come in a salty brine, if you were to be so fortunate as to have fresh leaves you will want to A. blanch them longer, and B use salt.
Use hummus to dip them in-but that is a whole post in itself! So for now I will recommend the Sabra brand-the original, roasted red pepper, and roasted pine nut are all great-oh and the roasted garlic.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
Thankful For The Pancakes & Toes
Today was going to be a fairly simple day. It was Bobby's day off and we had a few small tasks on the agenda then family time. Our kids all came in and cuddled in bed with us when they woke up before us-which rarely happens with everyone home. We tickled, rhymed, and giggled. So I did what I love to do on family days-I made pancakes for breakfast. This morning they were extra special because I put chocolate chips in them and because Chloe helped me make them. Then we sat down and pretty much swallowed the whole stack in a gulp.
On to task #1-start cleaning up Granny's apartment. You see she has been in the hospital for a while now and was going to be moved to hospice. The kids were surprisingly well behaved and we got more done today than we thought we would.
Then before Tasks #2&3 (visiting Granny and my father, in the same hospital and getting new shoes for Chloe) we stopped for coffee and lunch. Thats it...we stopped. Then my husbands phone rang. The nurse told him that we should come soon because Granny only had hours left. Less than 10 minutes later we were pulling into the hospital parking lot when the phone rang again. She had passed.
This mornings giggles and cheer seem like the distant past, yet it was only 12 hours ago. I'm so glad we enjoyed those few extra bad calories instead of fighting our kids to eat something healthier (which we will still be doing the other 13 out of 14 days-just sayin'). I'm so thankful we had no alarm clock set this morning so we had the joy of silly munchkins with cold toes climbing in with us. Thank you Lord for the little moments of peace and joy that sustain us through the (seeming) drought.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
"Mom, whats a condomee?"
I know it has been forever! So here is my day today...
I woke up with no plans for the day-except doing Addalene's pictures for her birthday card, and grocery shopping, and making dalmas (which I never got around to) and visiting Bobby's grandmother who is in ICU, and...but otherwise a very "slow" day. While I had dinner cooking-okay it wasn't really cooking it was just sitting on the stove waiting to cook its self-Bobby was watching "Bizarre Foods"-I know I know vegans watching "Bizarre Foods (BF)", it just does not make sense. So on BF the guy goes all over the world and tries, what Americans would see as the most bizarre foods. Well on this episode he was trying cow penis stew...and Chloe walked in the room. Chloe's mind is still "innocent" up to this point and we see this look on her face as she begins focusing all too intently on the television-so we begin whispering about what is going through her head. (Now she has a brother so she knows what this body part is)
Me to Bobby "ooohhhh, thats what you do with them!" At which point we begin laughing all to hard and she looks at us completely confused. Then BF takes us on a journey to Thailand where he is going to eat at a place called...okay I do not remember the name but it was something "and condoms"-no joke. The owners goal is to spread the word on rubber, with condoms used as balloons, as hats (well replicas), in place of mints, and oh yeah IN the food!
So as I say "oh cra-"
Chloe asks, "Mom, what is a condonee?"
Me, "I have no idea what a condonee is-I gotta go cook!"
Chloe pauses then asks Bobby, "Daddy, what is a condome?"
Bobby,"Go ask your mom!"
Chloe, "Mom, what is a con...condom?"
Sigh...this was not on my to do list!
I started with, "well what do you know about sex?"
Chloe, "nothing."
PRAISE GOD!
Though later she told me she thought it was if you are a boy or girl.
I started simple and will not be destroying her little innocent mind at once. So for you moms out here this was my intro into future talks;
"God created sex for a man and a woman to show their love for each other,and to make babies. He intends for it to be between married men and women. Sex can spread diseases called sexually transmitted diseases, and condoms are used to help prevent those from going from one person to another-though they do not always work. There is alot to know about sex, but at your age you do not need to know it all. If your hear kids talking about it, always ask me questions. Kids tend to talk about it even though they have no idea what it is and they confuse other kids. So please always come to me if you hear anything from other kids."
Chloe, "ok, is that my plate?"
So now to plan out the next talk...
I woke up with no plans for the day-except doing Addalene's pictures for her birthday card, and grocery shopping, and making dalmas (which I never got around to) and visiting Bobby's grandmother who is in ICU, and...but otherwise a very "slow" day. While I had dinner cooking-okay it wasn't really cooking it was just sitting on the stove waiting to cook its self-Bobby was watching "Bizarre Foods"-I know I know vegans watching "Bizarre Foods (BF)", it just does not make sense. So on BF the guy goes all over the world and tries, what Americans would see as the most bizarre foods. Well on this episode he was trying cow penis stew...and Chloe walked in the room. Chloe's mind is still "innocent" up to this point and we see this look on her face as she begins focusing all too intently on the television-so we begin whispering about what is going through her head. (Now she has a brother so she knows what this body part is)
Me to Bobby "ooohhhh, thats what you do with them!" At which point we begin laughing all to hard and she looks at us completely confused. Then BF takes us on a journey to Thailand where he is going to eat at a place called...okay I do not remember the name but it was something "and condoms"-no joke. The owners goal is to spread the word on rubber, with condoms used as balloons, as hats (well replicas), in place of mints, and oh yeah IN the food!
So as I say "oh cra-"
Chloe asks, "Mom, what is a condonee?"
Me, "I have no idea what a condonee is-I gotta go cook!"
Chloe pauses then asks Bobby, "Daddy, what is a condome?"
Bobby,"Go ask your mom!"
Chloe, "Mom, what is a con...condom?"
Sigh...this was not on my to do list!
I started with, "well what do you know about sex?"
Chloe, "nothing."
PRAISE GOD!
Though later she told me she thought it was if you are a boy or girl.
I started simple and will not be destroying her little innocent mind at once. So for you moms out here this was my intro into future talks;
"God created sex for a man and a woman to show their love for each other,and to make babies. He intends for it to be between married men and women. Sex can spread diseases called sexually transmitted diseases, and condoms are used to help prevent those from going from one person to another-though they do not always work. There is alot to know about sex, but at your age you do not need to know it all. If your hear kids talking about it, always ask me questions. Kids tend to talk about it even though they have no idea what it is and they confuse other kids. So please always come to me if you hear anything from other kids."
Chloe, "ok, is that my plate?"
So now to plan out the next talk...
Sunday, February 6, 2011
Black Forest Cake -Part 2
So now you have your 2 layers of cake, what else will you need?
1 can Cherry pie filling-extra cherry
1 batch icing, buttercream (recipe follows), whipped cream icing, or sour cream icing
optional: maraschino or fresh cherries and chocolate shavings for decoration.
Place your bottom layer of cake on serving platter. Pre-ice layer with a very thin layer of icing. Put 3/4 can of cherry filling on top leaving 1/2 inch around edge free of cherries. Top with second layer. Pre-ice second layer. This will prevent crumbs from getting onto the final layer and give it a cleaner look. If you'd like you can make the icing a little on the thin side for pre-icing then add more powdered sugar to thicken it up for the final icing. Next spread the final layer thickly onto entire cake and sides and smooth out. Top with chocolate shavings and remaining or fresh cherries. If you Google images of Black forest cake there are photos that will put my cake to shame-I suppose I will just have to make another cake just to make it pretty like theirs and get a decent photo sometime! ;) Store iced cake in fridge.
Butter-cream Icing
1/2 cup butter (or Earth-balance)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered/confectioners sugar
1 Tbl milk or soy
Beat until smooth! Store in refrigerator.
1 can Cherry pie filling-extra cherry
1 batch icing, buttercream (recipe follows), whipped cream icing, or sour cream icing
optional: maraschino or fresh cherries and chocolate shavings for decoration.
Place your bottom layer of cake on serving platter. Pre-ice layer with a very thin layer of icing. Put 3/4 can of cherry filling on top leaving 1/2 inch around edge free of cherries. Top with second layer. Pre-ice second layer. This will prevent crumbs from getting onto the final layer and give it a cleaner look. If you'd like you can make the icing a little on the thin side for pre-icing then add more powdered sugar to thicken it up for the final icing. Next spread the final layer thickly onto entire cake and sides and smooth out. Top with chocolate shavings and remaining or fresh cherries. If you Google images of Black forest cake there are photos that will put my cake to shame-I suppose I will just have to make another cake just to make it pretty like theirs and get a decent photo sometime! ;) Store iced cake in fridge.
Butter-cream Icing
1/2 cup butter (or Earth-balance)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups powdered/confectioners sugar
1 Tbl milk or soy
Beat until smooth! Store in refrigerator.
As promised! Black Forest Cake -Part 1
One of my favorite cakes! Apparently no one in Texas has heard of this delight, so I will share with you the very easy recipe!
First you make a chocolate cake in 2 round or square pans, you can use your favorite recipe or use mine which follows. My recipe is a version of "wacky cake" which was made during the depression when people could not afford milk and eggs. I have tried similar recipes that I did not like at all, I tweaked it some and came out with this delight. I made this chocolate cake for Elijah's birthday party and it was a hit. In my opinion it holds up much better than box cake-it isn't super crumby- which is great for when you cut it up. Enjoy the fact that it is cholesterol free too!
I have only made this in a square pan and it made one, nice, thick cake so I would recommend doubling it for a layered cake.
Perfect Chocolate Cake
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
6 Tbl cocoa powder-I recommend Hershey's Special Dark YUM!
1 tsp baking SODA
3 Tbl vegetable oil or canola oil
3 Tbl applesauce
1 Tbl vinegar (dont worry you cant taste it)
1 tsp almond extract(or vanilla)
1 cup water/milk (true "wacky cake" uses water-I use soy-you can use cows milk)
Pre heat oven to 350. Mix together dry ingredients. Then make 3 holes in the mixture. Put the oil and applesauce in one, vinegar in another, and extract in the last. Then pour the water/milk over it all and stir. I am not really sure if doing it in that manner makes a difference but all of the recipes I found for "wacky cake" did that. Grease a round or square pan. Then bake-I honestly do not know how long I baked it-until it smelled good and a fork stuck in the middle came out clean...about 34-40 minutes. Sorry I am so bad about that. I do everything by feel not by rules. Note* if you dont like dark chocolate use 4Tbl of the traditional Hersheys cocoa powder.
The picture shows the cake once I cut it up and "pre-iced" it before I put rolled fondant on for Elijah's Train Cake.
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The Last Hour
"Awwwll night, Awwwll day! Angels watching over me, my Lord!"
The last hour has been quite interesting. It started at the post office in Conroe. I have always been uneasy about putting the kids in the car, because whoever I put in last is left temporarily exposed. Today I decided to put Elijah in first so he wouldn't flip the stroller trying to get away (yeah I know that means he is too big to be in one now). The parking spaces at the post office are slanted, narrow, and always full. I had the stroller against the car beside me with Addie in it, as I leaned into the car to buckle Elijah. I never heard the lady get into the car next to us, or turn on her SUV (now that cars have gotten quieter, the government is asking makers to make them louder), or even her tires begin to reverse. I did hear her bumper hit the door that was leaning on me and I felt it push on me. I did see her stop just short of hitting little Addalene! Before I (or the driver) could register what was happening, I got Addie, still in the stroller, and myself behind our car and out of the way. The woman stopped, got out and began apologizing, her SUV really did have a huge blind spot. It was then that I noticed something, I wasn't angry, I didn't want to punch her lights out. I had peace, but it was more than peace, it was a knowing that she didn't need a lecture from me-she was sorry and I had forgiven her before she finished her apology.
As I type this I realize that is the way God forgives-he forgives us from the moment we become aware we need forgiven, before we can get the words out. If she hadn't been apologetic I would have left angry. I think God was teaching me a lesson, that I can learn to forgive like he does. I no longer have to accept apologies like a five year old ("say sorry and hug"-both kids glaring at each other all the while). I heard somewhere once that from the moment we are forgiven-God forgets, he doesn't remember what we did, it is gone-now if only we could forget too. Not just what others did, but what we have done.
Back to my story. No anger. She waited as I packed the kids into their seats and got into my car safely. While she was waiting I heard her curse, "SWEET MOSES!!!" I nearly busted out laughing, but I was still shaking. Hey, I still have adrenaline even if I have a dose of peace to go with it. Everyone was fine, the car too. We left and headed home.
I get home and let the dogs out back, somehow Opi found his way out of the yard-he is still out but I am not leaving the kids to go catch him. Lucy came back in. I headed to the bathroom and found that she had tore up a roll of TP-a HUGE peeve of mine toilet paper not on a roll it grosses me, like really badly grosses me out. I cleaned it up. Then took my turn, midstream I hear the handle on the front door, and I know I didn't latch the child lock. Now, I have always wondered what I would do in this instance and now I know. I run with my pants around my ankles and catch Elijah just as the door creeps open. I am so glad that I didn't have to run in the front yard like that! So that is my hour 1:45-2:45
I am so glad that I have the best security guard of all! Thank you, Jesus!
The last hour has been quite interesting. It started at the post office in Conroe. I have always been uneasy about putting the kids in the car, because whoever I put in last is left temporarily exposed. Today I decided to put Elijah in first so he wouldn't flip the stroller trying to get away (yeah I know that means he is too big to be in one now). The parking spaces at the post office are slanted, narrow, and always full. I had the stroller against the car beside me with Addie in it, as I leaned into the car to buckle Elijah. I never heard the lady get into the car next to us, or turn on her SUV (now that cars have gotten quieter, the government is asking makers to make them louder), or even her tires begin to reverse. I did hear her bumper hit the door that was leaning on me and I felt it push on me. I did see her stop just short of hitting little Addalene! Before I (or the driver) could register what was happening, I got Addie, still in the stroller, and myself behind our car and out of the way. The woman stopped, got out and began apologizing, her SUV really did have a huge blind spot. It was then that I noticed something, I wasn't angry, I didn't want to punch her lights out. I had peace, but it was more than peace, it was a knowing that she didn't need a lecture from me-she was sorry and I had forgiven her before she finished her apology.
As I type this I realize that is the way God forgives-he forgives us from the moment we become aware we need forgiven, before we can get the words out. If she hadn't been apologetic I would have left angry. I think God was teaching me a lesson, that I can learn to forgive like he does. I no longer have to accept apologies like a five year old ("say sorry and hug"-both kids glaring at each other all the while). I heard somewhere once that from the moment we are forgiven-God forgets, he doesn't remember what we did, it is gone-now if only we could forget too. Not just what others did, but what we have done.
Back to my story. No anger. She waited as I packed the kids into their seats and got into my car safely. While she was waiting I heard her curse, "SWEET MOSES!!!" I nearly busted out laughing, but I was still shaking. Hey, I still have adrenaline even if I have a dose of peace to go with it. Everyone was fine, the car too. We left and headed home.
I get home and let the dogs out back, somehow Opi found his way out of the yard-he is still out but I am not leaving the kids to go catch him. Lucy came back in. I headed to the bathroom and found that she had tore up a roll of TP-a HUGE peeve of mine toilet paper not on a roll it grosses me, like really badly grosses me out. I cleaned it up. Then took my turn, midstream I hear the handle on the front door, and I know I didn't latch the child lock. Now, I have always wondered what I would do in this instance and now I know. I run with my pants around my ankles and catch Elijah just as the door creeps open. I am so glad that I didn't have to run in the front yard like that! So that is my hour 1:45-2:45
I am so glad that I have the best security guard of all! Thank you, Jesus!
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Crazy Doesn't Cut It!
Time is flying by so fast! I am sorry it has been so long since I have posted. I am still alive but life has gotten crazy! Things are slowing back down-or at least I hope! Elijah's terrible 2's became the terrifying 3's. Addalene is now walking, with support, but that has put everything into arms reach! Chloe is looking more like a teenager everyday and assumes that the teenage attitude must come with it! Bobby is about to go to Chicago for 4 days for training. As for me, I am trying to keep little pieces of Lord knows what, off the floor so Addalene doesn't choke on them-its a full time job plus overtime! Oh, and I am trying to schedule some sort of birthday fun for Elijah (3 on the 21st) between Bobby's days off and my photography sessions.
Christmas? Oh it was great! Really, I saw my family, Bobby's dad, met my newest niece, and Addalene met one of her Aunts (Uncle and cousin too)for the first time. AND it was a white Christmas! So I got to take a stroll in the snow with my husband-who was too cold to hold my hand- have a snow ball fight, and go sledding! Very picturesque and wonderful memories were made!
I will get back on here-soon I hope! Lots of love and Happy 2011!
Christmas? Oh it was great! Really, I saw my family, Bobby's dad, met my newest niece, and Addalene met one of her Aunts (Uncle and cousin too)for the first time. AND it was a white Christmas! So I got to take a stroll in the snow with my husband-who was too cold to hold my hand- have a snow ball fight, and go sledding! Very picturesque and wonderful memories were made!
I will get back on here-soon I hope! Lots of love and Happy 2011!
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