Recipe Review: Peach Pie

I never seem to find good peaches. When I see them in the produce market, I pick them up and smell them, but they never smell very peachy, so I usually pass them by. But yesterday, I wanted to make a peach pie, and I figured that since I'd be cooking them, it would intensify the flavor, so I grabbed about ten.

I was using this recipe as a guide, but knew I wanted to do a crumb topping instead of lattice. I briefly considered skipping the crust altogether and just going for a crumble, but crust isn't hard, and I wanted that flaky texture along with the crunchy crumble and tender peaches. I made the crust and stashed it in the refrigerator, then got to work on blanching the peaches.

Blanching peaches just means plunging them into boiling water, leaving them there for a minute, then putting them in an ice water bath.  The peels should come right off. And they did--for the first peach. Maybe I didn't leave them in the water long enough, but almost all the peaches had to have the peels cut off, instead of peeling away from the flesh. This was the most time consuming, annoying part. Moral of the story?  Use frozen peaches!


After that, it was pretty easy.  Roll out the crust and put it in the pie pan, building it up a little higher on the sides. Mix the sliced peaches with white sugar, brown sugar, flour, cornstarch, cinnamon and ginger. Pour into the pie crust. Top with your standard flour/oatmeal/brown sugar/butter/more cinnamon & ginger crumble topping. Bake at 450 for 15 minutes, then lower the heat to 350 and bake another 45 minutes or so. Let the pie sit in the cooling oven (there are two advantages here:  it thickens better, and doesn't take up valuable counter space).

I got some caramel praline crunch ice cream to dish on top--which really was gilding the lily--but vanilla would have been good, too.

The pie was good, but not bursting with that summery peachy goodness I'd been hoping for. Moral of the story? Use frozen peaches!!! 

Note that there are no nutritional statistics for this recipe. Between the flaky pie crust, sweet peach filling, crunchy topping, and ice cream, one serving had enough calories for a full meal. It was definitely a splurge, but well worth it.

Recipe Review: Honey Lemon Bars

I've been wanting to make the Skinny Honey Lemon Bars for ages.  First, I didn't make them because I didn't have the right size pan. Then, I was low on honey. Then, the friend that Sarah had over doesn't eat eggs (instead, they made sugar cookies that were so good, they're totally my new go-to recipe).

Finally, I made them on Saturday. And I followed the recipe exactly. I know--shocking, right?  But it seems pretty carefully calculated, and I didn't want it messed up. So no tweaking on this one. The result?  They're pretty good. Both girls love them. I just like them. For me, it isn't an A+ recipe for two reasons.  First, the honey taste kind of competes with the lemon. I like honey, but I think I'd like a different sweetener for this one. Also, the crust layer is thicker than the lemon layer. As far as I'm concerned, that's backwards.

Will I make them again?  Maybe, but I think I'm likely to look for a variation that has a different lemon layer.

Greek Yogurt Love

The Aldi near me has recently started carrying Fage 0% fat Greek yogurt, which means that that's one less thing I have to trek to Meijer to get. I've started getting two containers a week, because I go through so much of it.

What do I do with it?  Well, there's the standard yogurt & fruit snack, smoothie, or popsicle.  Sometimes I make a classic Swiss Birchermüesli (soak some oatmeal in milk for about half an hour, then add yogurt, grated apple, and as much fresh, in season fruit as you can stand--lovely dinner when it's too hot to cook). Last week, I started making yogurt pancakes. I saw the original idea on one of the MyFitnessPal message boards, and tweaked it a little.

Here's how I do it: mix 6 ounces Greek yogurt with an egg and a half a teaspoon of vanilla. Mix in 1/3 cup whole wheat flour and a teaspoon of baking soda. Cook as with regular pancakes. Makes 5 or 6, depending on size. Nutrition:  302 calories, 36 carbs, 6 grams fat, 29 grams of protein, 4 grams fiber.  That's for the whole batch!!!  I generally don't bother with syrup or butter. The real beauty of this recipe is that there is so much protein and it's relatively low carb. I feel like I'm always "chasing" protein, and unless I have eggs, it's hard for me to get at breakfast.

In contrast, the pancakes I make for the kids have about 25% more calories, 30% more carbs, half the protein, and half the fiber. I might have to start making yogurt pancakes for them, too. In that case, I'm going to need a lot more yogurt, and should probably start making my own, but that's another post.

Expectations

Will post basement results soon.

Since my mom is in town, I've been thinking a lot about sewing. The other day, I took a bunch of fabric over to her and we played, "What should this be?"  I got some great ideas and it was a lot of fun. Yesterday, she came over for a few hours so she could help me with some more concrete things, like taking in some shirts and making some skirts.

I tried on the last skirt I made, the blue six-gored. She immediately said, "It's too big." and we discussed how to make it better. It'll mean taking the waistband off, but I should do that anyway since I did a pretty sloppy job of it. I'll take the gores in at the top, but leave the bottom as is. I'll also make the elastic smaller.

I have this really pretty, batik-y looking rayon in blues & white. Very summery, very drapey. I was thinking circle skirt. My mom said the for a circle skirt to really look right, it needed a proper waistband and a zipper. I've been putting off working with this fabric since I got it weeks ago, because the thought of a circle skirt was intimidating to me. I didn't want to deal with all that bias finishing. She suggested a slightly gathered skirt. I could get it cut out of one piece (selvedge to selvedge), with one seam, an elastic waist, hem, and done. I've made skirts like that a bazillion times before and knew I could whip it out in my sleep, so I got started.

I made it, and tried it on.  It looked nice, but not the full, drapey, flowy, girly skirt I'd had in my mind. And therein lay the problem. I had an expectation of what this fabric should be, and this wasn't it. It's not bad; it just isn't what I want for this fabric.

So my time with the seam ripper is going to be longer than I thought. I don't really mind taking it apart. I have enough left over to add to it to make another six-gored skirt, which I know will be flowy and drapey and girly the way I want. I'll even be able to use the measurements from the one I already made once I get it fixed. This also gives me time to bite the bullet and get the Serger fixed.

The ironic thing is that I have a plaid seersucker that I love (used it to make golf shorts for the girls a couple years ago) that will be perfect for a simple gathered skirt. I will easily have three new skirts next weekend.

Of course, I have no idea what I'm going to wear to church this morning.

Home Stretch

The kids will be back on Sunday afternoon. I'm not working again until Monday. That means I have today, tomorrow, and Saturday to get the basement as done as I can.

This week's Purple Heart pickup:

 This week's garbage pickup:

This week's progress:

Most of the stuff that had to go out has gone out. There will still be extra garbage next week, and another Purple Heart pickup sometime in July. But most of what is still down there stays down there, and that's the really hard work--figuring out what to do with all the stuff that stays. Finding room for it, keeping it tidy & organized.

Today is mostly about clothes & fabric.  I have laundry to do, clothes to sort, and fabric to fold. It's a good thing it's cooler down there!

Realization

So even though I've removed 12 metric tons of crap from my basement, it still looks like a garbage truck exploded.  But now I think I understand a little better why that is, and what to do about it.  Also:  a weight loss correlation.

Essentially, what I'm doing is sorting into two categories:  stay and go. The "go" can be either garbage or donations, but it gets out of the basement.  But all the "stay" stuff is still there.  Yes, I know:  duh. I've been so busy trying to just get through the masses of piles (Jeff called it a berm) and move forward, deeper into the basement, that I didn't do much with what's left behind. I didn't really have a plan for what to do with the stuff that stays. 

But I think that I've made as much forward progress as I'm going to for a while. I've gotten quite far back, all the way to the stuff that has been in boxes for years.  This kids can't be blamed for that stuff, but it's fairly neat and contained, and I'm willing to leave it for the time being.

Now it's time to go back. Back over the pile of shoes and start figuring out what will go where. Back to the books and toys that I do want to keep. And that's where I get stuck. I don't know what to do with it all. We have a couple shelf units (full) and bookshelves (fuller). There are some plastic storage bins, also largely full. So I'm not sure exactly what will happen to all the stuff we still have down there. That's my next big challenge, and it's what I'll be working on this weekend.

The weight loss correlation:  I've been working through the basement by taking one area and just getting through it.  "When I'm done with this section of floor, I'm done for the day, and it will look so much better without that big pile."  But when I am done, I don't see the difference. All I can see is what isn't yet done.  There's a similarity to looking in the mirror. I know I've lost weight. I know my clothes are smaller. But when I look in the mirror, I don't really remember what I used to look like.  I see old pictures, and just feel perplexed.  I don't remember how that felt. The only difference is that I know I'm happier when I look in the mirror than I was a year ago.  I guess that'll have to do.

How is this possible?

While the kids are in Florida, I'm cleaning out the basement. This is a truly Herculean task--fully half the basement wasn't even accessible.

This is just the front part of the basement. It doesn't even begin to show the true measure of the worst part.
I've worked on it every day, sometimes only for an hour, sometimes longer. 

Purple Heart has come out once so far.

This is actually only about half of what they took today.  I managed to get a lot more toys and a few more bags of clothes out before the truck came.

A friend came out to pick up dozens of books for a book exchange she's having this weekend, saving me an extra trip.

(OK, turn your head to the side, because I can't get the picture to rotate.)

I've dragged countless bags of garbage up the stairs.

And the result?  The basement looks worse now than it did before.  Seriously!

Yes, I can see a lot more floor than before. Yes, I know that it's better.  But I'm so tired, and there is so much left to do. The clothes, the toys, the SHOES.  I have until the end of the month until the kids come back, and I'm determined to get it in really good shape before then.  I'll update again next week.

Recipe Review: Skinny Taste Snickerdoodles

We're going to a friend's today for a pool party. Yes, I'm aware that it's 55 degrees out. Luckily, the friend also has a hot tub. We're hoping this will be a recurring event, and when talking with the mom in charge, I suggested that (since we're all trying to be healthier lately) we make a point of bringing healthy foods and the recipes.

When I suggested this, I was thinking of things like Cold Sesame Noodles. Middle East Panzanella. Corn and Black Bean Salad. All delicious things on a hot summer day. Um. Did I mention the bipolar Michigan weather?  I decided to make cookies instead.

Specifically, Gina's Skinny Taste Snickerdoodles.  And yes, I did modify the recipe. I don't have cream of tartar (subbed baking powder for it & the baking soda) or agave syrup (subbed honey). Also, I think I let them cook a little too long. Once they're cool, they're pretty crunchy, and I strongly prefer a chewy cookie.

They're very tasty, though, and the kids really like them.  This is one that goes into the "make again" file.

More Sewing

Some good, some bad.

First, the good. I have a bunch of shirts that are 2X from last fall that are now too big & rather sloppy. I decided to see if taking in the side seams would help any.
Example #1:

I turned it inside out, and drew a new line, then cut and pinked the edge. I just eyeballed it to see how it would go. 

Example #2:

Pretty much the same thing, but with a knit/t-shirt instead of woven/button down style.

So far, I was pretty pleased. I had taken two shirts that I never wear and turned them into items that I could wear to work or church. My wardrobe is pretty limited, and my budget is very limited, so I was happy to get extra use out of these things.

Next, I wanted to re-purpose a particular skirt. It's a long, somewhat A-line, very light & floaty fabric, kind of an ethnic print. Very nice for summer, and would go well with that orange top above. I carefully pulled out the waistband, and took out the side seams, then took it in along the sides and reattached the now reduced waistband. I had considered just using the fabric itself to make a totally different skirt, but decided to keeping the original style was the most expedient thing. I was hoping to be able to wear it to work tonight.

I'm not wearing it to work tonight. The hem is a mess--very uneven--and the waistband is still too big. I Skyped my mom to get advice, and she said that the issue is that I still don't know how to properly fit things. I agree with that, but the real issue is that I wanted to get a skirt done today. I've put it aside and will try something with it when she's here in July.  This is a better alternative than chucking the whole thing in the garbage, which was the direction I was heading.

I do still have plans for other fabric, though. There's the new stuff I bought at JoAnn's, and I have an actual Liberty Print from Nassau. I think I'm going to make a circle skirt for myself out of that one. I also have some blue that looks vaguely like denim. Short/skirts are what I really need right now, because I only have three pairs of shorts, and two of them are a bit too big.

In the meantime, I need to go find something to wear to work tonight.

Sewing Day

(Note: I don't know why my pictures are all on their sides--I edited them so you don't have to turn your head, but blogger is ignoring that. Sorry!)

I really wanted be able to take all day yesterday for sewing, but distributing the mulch out front took all day Tuesday, and distributing the peat out back took all day Wednesday (also, the kids had Field Biology at U of M Dearborn). So no sewing until today.

First, I started with some cool fabric that Sarah's been in love with forever. I don't even remember where I got it. It reminds me a little of the Russian nesting doll design. It was very easy--a seam up the back, being sure to line up the border part of the print. Then I put in an elastic waist, and she was done. I didn't even need to hem it, because the print ran all the way to the selvedge edge, so I used it. She's very happy with it.

Then I started on Lauren's skirt with some fabric she found in the basement this morning. I don't know where I got that from, either (this is a continuing theme, apparently). I was talking with a friend the other day about circle skirts, so I decided to give one of those a try.

I've never actually made a circle skirt myself, but I understood the general principle, and my stepmom made a few for me when I was in college and I loved them. I looked up a couple youtube videos, and started cutting. After I cut the circle and shook it out to show Lauren, then refolded it , I noticed that there was some overlap, so it wasn't truly a perfect circle. I didn't want to start trimming and trimming, though, because I was afraid that before I knew it, I'd have a micro mini circle skirt, and that's really not what I was going for!

I cut out the waist circle, had her try it on, and then shaved a tiny bit more off because it was a skosh tight going on. I really wanted to avoid making it too big, though. I used bias tape to bind the waistband, then added elastic inside it. I used more bias tape to bind the edge. I thought about turning it under, but I kind of like the border look to it, and it went much fast that way. I had a bad moment where I was sure I wasn't going to have enough. Seriously, it had never occurred to me that a brand new package (3 yards!) of bias tape might not be enough to run around the hem of this little skirt! Luckily, I had just enough left over from the waistband to finish.

After she tried it on, I realized that it really is quite uneven. It isn't noticeable if she's got the longer part in the back, but if it's off to the side, she looks a little cockeyed.  If (oh, who am I kidding? WHEN) I made a skirt like this for myself, I'm going to be very careful to make sure my circle is absolutely perfect. But Lauren likes it, and it's a nice play skirt--very twirly! 

Oy

I am so tired. I woke up at three, and couldn't get back to sleep. I was on the computer for a while, then watched a little TV, then dozed on the couch until 7. I'm really dragging today. Also, my knees are very stiff, I'm sure due to all the salt & junk I ate at the party last night.

I still have a busy day planned--I need to get a (slow) walk in, and there is a lot of yard work and laundry to do, and of course school work. I'm also working tonight.

The plan for dinner is to grill up a bunch of stuff that we can then eat throughout the course of the week. I have some small steaks for us to eat tonight, but I also got brats and will make some hamburger patties. I might also marinate a couple chicken breasts, and slice some zucchini to put on as well.

Time to wake up!

Recipe Review: Martha Stewart's Tiramisu Cupcakes

Last night was Sarah's Girl Scout end of year party. She volunteered for me to make tiramisu (with cupcakes as a backup plan). Uh.  OK. I love tiramisu, but I've never made it. I found a few recipes that looked reasonable, but realized I'd have to hit Meijer to get the mascarpone cheese. I avoid Meijer whenever I can, and only go when I needs several things I can't generally get at my regular stores (kosher salt, bulgur wheat, whole wheat flour, etc.). Since I was going, I decided to get other stuff as well. Grrr--I hate paying higher prices for things I know I can get cheaper at other stores.

To top it off, they didn't have mascarpone cheese. I was irked, but decided to hit Westborn Market on my way home, because they have a whole ROOM for cheese, and I was pretty sure they'd have it, as well as ladyfinger cookies. As I pulled in the Westborn parking lot and saw no cars, I realized that they were closed. D'oh!

I decided that cream cheese would have to suffice (which I already had at home), and that I could run down to Randazzo's produce market for the ladyfingers--I've seen them there a million times, but never gotten any. I dropped the groceries I already had at home, then got back in the car.

Dun dun DUN! Randazzo's had also closed!  I growled the whole way home, and googled "Tiramisu cupcakes." Of course, good old Martha Stewart had a recipe. It called for a few things I didn't have, like vanilla beans & of course mascarpone, but I had decent substitutions. It looked a little complicated, but whatever, right? The next morning, I copied it and holy cow! Are you kidding?  That's one complicated recipe!  I thought to myself, "these had better be some STELLAR cupcakes for all this work."

I made them, and took them to the party, and they were good. Sadly, they were not stellar. I didn't use enough of the coffee syrup for fear of them being soggy, so most of them were a little lacking in oomph. Again, not bad, but not worth the work.  Know what would have been stellar?  Yeah. Tiramisu. If I ever have a need to make it again, I'll plan a little farther ahead and just make the real thing, which seems worlds easier.

Hello Again

So I have some catching up to do, eh?

The CropWalk went great. The weather was just right, and aside from one monster hill, actually not too difficult. Yes, I was tired and my feet were sore when I was done, but I made it through. As I rounded the final corner, I looked at my phone to see how long it had taken me:  130 minutes.  Really? I was expecting a little faster than that. Then I realized that when we started, we were at the back to the pack, and it was hard to move ahead. That's fine if you're just strolling along, but I think that next year, I'm going to make a point of being closer to the front so I can maintain my natural stride the whole time.

As for my weight, I've gotten back in the groove. I made a goal to get at least half an hour of exercise every day this month, and I haven't missed a day yet. The first week, it was mostly on the Wii, but I realized that I really manage my stress better when I walk outside, so I've started doing that in the mornings again, and I'm glad. I did something to my ankle today, though--it's kind of sore, and I don't know why.

As of this morning, I'm officially down to 206.1.  I don't plan on even trying for "onederland" before Memorial Day, but by the time my mom & stepdad bring the kids back at the end of June, I should be there.

Up tomorrow: another recipe review.

It's All Good

Surgery was fine. We got in early, but still had to wait a bit.  Injecting the anesthesia into the IV was the most painful part (and that only lasted a few seconds before I was out.  I've got a monster bandage on my neck, but it doesn't hurt much at all, and I'm actually hoping that I don't have to cancel class tomorrow after all. We'll see how I feel in the morning. I'm kind of tired, but not as tired as Jeff, and am getting around just fine.

Still going to milk it for all it's worth, though. :)

Brownie-Off

I love me some brownies. When I first made the Drop 5 Pounds brownies, I loved them, but I'm always on the lookout for something with fewer calories. I saw in my Cook Yourself Thin Faster cookbook that they had a recipe for "Fudgy Brownies" that looked pretty good, and are only 89 calories each (adjusted for 12 servings instead of 16).

I made a batch Friday, and they were ok, but definitely lacking that chocolate hit from the other recipe. I think that the extra cocoa powder and the coffee make a big difference. I'd still like to try and find a brownie recipe that smacks me in the face with chocolate flavor but is fewer than 100 calories per serving--I might have to just develop it myself . . .

Week 16

I know--I said I wasn't going to weigh in again until May 1st because I wanted to concentrate more on just being healthy and living the way I know I should. And I have been doing that. But I still need that accountability and that validation from the scale occasionally.. I wish I didn't; maybe someday I won't. I plan to take next week off and weigh in again on the 29th, since that's a Sunday.

Official results:  207.9. That's 141 pounds total, almost 12 pounds this year, and 3.5 from last week.

The Crop Walk is in three weeks, and I can do 4 miles without too much difficulty. I realized today that I'm not really pushing myself on these walks. I don't run at all, and although I am tired when I get home, I know I could do more. Depending on how surgery goes, I need to step it up.

Ignoring the Scale

I've been eating really badly lately. Like, a whole box of Girl Scout cookies in an afternoon level badly. It's been a pretty stressful week, for a variety of reasons.

I'm back in the groove, but I'm still going to ignore the existence of the scale until May 1. I'm having minor surgery on Monday to remove a lymph node (docs assure me that they don't think it's serious, but they want to check it more thoroughly), and I know I'll be retaining some water after that. I think a couple weeks off from the pressure of the scale will be helpful.

Whatever the number is on May 1st, I'll deal with.Until then, I'm just going to do my best to be as healthy as possible.

Shopping

Yesterday, I took the girls shopping for Easter clothes at Kohl's. They each managed to find something they liked--Lauren a sundress & cardigan ("I can really run in this") and Sarah a racerback dress with a t-shirt to go under it--and since we were there anyway, I tried a few things on myself.

I got four dresses, all of them in this general style. They all looked like tents. They looked cheap and flimsy, and I couldn't stand how I looked in any of them. If I'd had more time, I would have looked for more and different options, but the kids were getting restless.

So I ended up being frustrated and annoyed that I couldn't find anything that I remotely liked, but I did come away with renewed motivation to eat better and get more exercise, because I really did not like how I looked in those dresses. Hopefully things will go better at Macy's, and I have gift cards there, which is a bonus.

Edit: I love Macy's. I loved the first thing I saw at the top of the escalator--a springy watercolor skirt. I found one in a size 16, knew it wouldn't fit, and grabbed it anyway. A yellow basket weave detailed top in XL to go with it, and I hit the fitting room.  I was right; it didn't fit. But it almost fit. And I loved it as much on as I did on the hanger, even though it was too tight. I could barely get the zipper up, and I knew I'd never be able to sit in it.

I went out to see if they had it in an 18, and the nice salesgirl called three times to try to find one. Finally, they realized that there was one out in Ann Arbor. I really didn't want to hike out there tomorrow, so I reluctantly kept looking. And looking. At one point, I did head up to the plus department on the third floor, but saw nothing I liked at all. Back on the second floor, I found several skirts to try on, and a sleeveless sheath style dress with flowers printed down one side. That's another one that almost fit that I loved.  But nothing else was really grabbing me. There was plenty that did fit, but none of it was appealing enough to buy. I was heading back to the counter to see if I could work something out where I could get the sale price on the original skirt at the other store tomorrow when I saw another rack of dresses. I grabbed one similar to this, but a different pattern. The neck was a pretty deep vee, but I figured I'd give it a shot.

Sure enough, it was way too low cut for me. But other than that, it looked pretty good. So I realized that I'd use the same solution that Sarah had--a tank underneath, and problem solved! I quickly found one, tried them on together, liked it quite a bit, paid, and was out the door just before closing time.

It's not a perfect dress. The colors aren't as bright and sunny as I was hoping for, and the waistline does hit a little high, but it's pretty and it works for now, and both pieces were less than $50. I think I can wear my sandals with it, and I'll find some earrings.

But the memory of that one flowered dress is really going to keep me on the straight & narrow for the foreseeable future. That was a killer dress, and someday I'm going to be able to wear that kind of thing. And I will rock it.

Week 14

That was faster than I expected. The previous gain came off, and took a friend with it. Down 2.4% (5.3 pounds) to 211.2.

I got some exercise, but certainly not every night, and last night, I ate way too much while Jeff's brother & sister-in-law were over (chips and dips and dessert, oh my!).  I didn't weigh in this morning, and am going to resist the scale until at least Thursday, or maybe for a full week, before I weigh in again. I want to focus on good habits: exercise and good eating. 

I still have a LOT to do this week, but I'm only working one night. I don't have all the week's dinners planned out, but I have some ideas. The weather should be warm enough to get back to walking outside. The CropWalk is in barely a month. I've walked four miles a couple times, and it was long, but manageable. I'd like to do that walk once a day this week.

Facing the Music

I haven't weighed in for ten days. I almost didn't weigh in this morning, but I knew I needed to see what the damage was. I'm up four pounds, which when you consider how I've been eating during those ten days, isn't bad at all.

The biggest problem has been in the evenings. I'll start out great during the day, but then keep on eating after dinner. There's a reason I made myself a rule that I won't eat past 6PM. Last night, I did manage to talk myself out of making popcorn to watch during a movie, which I see as a sign of a better mindset.

I still have a ton of stuff looming over me, but I'm trying to get on top of it this week. It's cold again, so I don't know how much outdoor exercise I'll be getting, but I'll make sure to get on the Wii tonight, since I don't have a class to teach.

I do feel more energized and empowered, and I'm determined to kick this. I'm not going to make a timed goal for how much I want to lose, but I'm going to shoot for at least 1% of my weight each week until I break 200.