It was the Best of Cow, it was the Worst of Cow.

Last week, among my adventures in pork, I broke out the beef. I wanted a hamburger. A nice bloody hamburger. Oh, how I remember the olden day's when I was afraid of pink meat. But I learned the error of my ways a year or two ago. Beef is supposed to be a little red/pink. Maybe not if you get the amonia rinced crap from Wal-mart, but if I loved my introduction to grass fed and fatty pasture raised cow before, I appreciate it even more with that juicyness that you can only get by not cooking beef  'till it's brown through and through.

And that's not the pregnancy talking, beef is just better that way... though I will admit that although I haven't really had any particularly strong prego cravings, the strongest of them has been the occasional hankering for some "bloody beef." 

mmmm blood.

I'm a million times happier here than I look. I'm just soooooo overwhelmed. 

And having eaten out more than usual in my prego laziness, I can affirm my suspicions that no fast food or restaurant to date can make a burger as yummy as I can make at home.

What you can't see in my crappy phone camera photo, is that this burger is truely amazing... and I even tried something tricky with it this time....

That's right, I puréed some raw liver... and put a  few spoonfuls into my pound of ground beef before I cooked my burger. My burger had liver in it, and it was still WAY better than any in-in-out, culvers, applebees, red robbin burger I've had in months. Brett was a bit worried, but admitted you can't tell. 

I also made liver and onions. Because liver is good for you and your supposed to eat it. But really, like brussel sprouts, liver has a bad rap. You can make a world of a difference in flavor and texture depending on how you cook it. 

Just ask Brett who makes the BEST liver he's ever had... I'll give you a hint: it's me. And it's not a fluke, I've made it more than once in the last few years. 

No, it's still no steak or juicy burger, but it's edible, not revolting... But after our liver-hamburger experiment, B an I agree that freezing liver purée in ice cube portions, thawing a cube out when we thaw out our ground beef, and mixing it into our hamburgers is preferable. Get that punch of nutrients without even noticing. 

Adventures in Pork.

I don't like Pork. I like beef. I also like chicken. But not Pork, unless, of course, we are discussing bacon. I like bacon.

So last fall, I made a rather illogical choice. I bought our usual quarter of a cow. And then I bought half a pig. And, on top of that, I told them not to cure any of it... so technically, my bacon isn't even bacon.  Way to go Charlo! Your logic astounds us all!

Now I have to learn to like it, and since I spent the first trimester of my pregnancy as almost vegetarian, and several more weeks with absolutely no desire to cook anything that requires effort, the pig just sat in my freezer, worrying me that I had made a fairly expensive mistake.

Introduce Bravery:
Mid January, I got out some pork chops, cut them to half width, rubbed them with some stuff. This stuff included brown sugar. I hate sugary ham. Gross. But I did it. Because the pork-eating-jewish cookbook told me to. 

Followed instructions, which resulted in burning one side. 

And even though I also don't like fruit and meat, I made an apple-applebrandy-apricot topping for my burnt Pork Chops. Because the pork-eating-jewish cookbook told me to. 

But Puppy didn't seam to be discouraged by the sugared-fruited-burnt  disaster of a pork experiment, so I ate it. 

And it was actually fairly good. Mr. B even ate leftovers throughout the week... and he's been on an anti-leftover/pro-microwaving-frozen-processed-crap kick lately.

And in the last week, Brett has made pork chops 3 times! First time he has actually cooked something in MONTHS.  Both from this recipe (which he didn't burn) and from one he made up. And I liked it, and I am making friends with Mr. Pork...because the pork-eating-jewish cookbook told me to. 

The RIghted Mis-Adventures of a Pregnant Chef.

I burnt the pork (see tomorrow's post), and still feeling lazy, it was a while before I returned to my attempts to cook anything fancier/more time consuming than steaming vegetables or making a salad.

Then, in honor of easter, I made Challah. It's been a very long time since I've made bread, to celebrate, I decided to make several loaves for the people I visit teach, and some family.

It overcooked it-self (I maintain I did everything right), I burnt it's own bottom. It was dry.  So in true visiting teaching spirit, I gave it to my families anyway... and told them it was for feeding the ducks. 

Lucky Duck. 

But that still left me with 2 loaves, and I could only eat half of one (too dry). B and I had just recently tried bread pudding for the first time, so, as per his brilliant suggestion, I used half a loaf to make bread pudding for Easter. 

And it was good. Could have used more "pudding" and less bread, but it was still good, and I would do it again with smaller bread slices. The Vanilla-ness and mild sweetness of Challah made for the perfect "day old bread" to use in such a desert. 

I cut off the crusts for the croutons, but didnt' bother doing that with the bread pudding. 

Then, as also suggested by Brett, I used the other loaf to make my first crutons. I thought the mild vanilla was not the best choice for croutons, but it didn't stop B's sister's fiancé from eating 80% of it before we went to dinner... so at least it did not go to waste!

So that's how you waste-not your slightly overcooked bread; you can always feed it to the ducks, make bread pudding, or make croutons. 

toffee O'Chocolaté

Still eating lots of veggies.

Yet to resume my no sugar commitment. I think I am ready, except that I am still obsessed with coming up with my own chocolates recipes. If I don't figure it out while everything is fresh, I'll forget and have to start all over.

Basically, that means that until I am satisfied with my creations, I will continue consuming far too much sugar...and now we know why Mario Batali is so plump.  

It's an unhealthy obsession, but at least it's distracted me from chain-watching Doc Martin episodes. I don't know why it grew on me so much. Season one isn't super amazing... but it somehow consumed me. Call it the Portwenn effect.

Who wouldn't want to live in Portwenn... even if it is just Port Isaac with a cooler name. 

Anyhow. Ugly, but deliciously successful was my attempt to take a loved and rarely used toffee recipe, alter it, alter the proportions of my chocolate to make it less sugary (for the sugar center).... and I got these hideous but yummy candies.

Chocolate covered toffees. Yum

Still working on the recipe: there was far too much butteriness in the toffee pan (wasting away), the toffees varied from softly brittle to chewy, and it was hard to get the chocolate to stick. However, I did finally find a carmel recipe that DOES NOT USE CORN SYRUP, so I am going to try those out. I'm aiming for a chocolate delight that makes Reisin's cower in shame. Shame, I tell you, Shame. 

The Evolution of Chocolate

Remember when I used to like Hersheys? Then I discovered Utah Truffles and I thought I would never again eat Hersheys... (except I did have a Hershey relapse at the last family reunion.SHHHH.  Don't tell)

But, then I was trying really hard not to eat highly processed foods, chemicals, and such... but I still made exceptions for Utah Truffles and their chocolate covered cookies. Because they are awesome, and because I could never seam to find chocolates without all sorts of hydrogenated oils and soy crap in them. But that is okay, right? You can't expect a girl to go with out chocolate, can you? Marketing says I need it, and marketing would never lie.

Then recently, with much help from Carrisa, I found a few pure and simple ones THAT ACTUALLY TASTED GOOD, because some of those health food company candies are just strait up nasty.

Not quite a Utah Truffle, but for a real food ingredient chocolate, this one isn't bad.
Better than Hershey's at least.

Cant find the proper photo, but 365 makes a Coconut chocolate (without milk)
that has real ingredients and is pretty decent.

@ $5 for 2.7 oz, (available at Whole Foods)
Brett really liked this 4 ingredient chocolate, but it just quite didn't do it for me.
The ground cocoa beand in this brand give it a gritty texture that grows on you.

Don't usually favor the chili chocolates, but this is the one that gave me hope
for a simple and pure ingredient chocolate.  Really liked the flavor the chili added. 

The one that EVERYONE loved, and quite possibly everyone's favorite. 

The problem comes when you don't want to be spending 5 bucks a bar (a week)on chocolate. So, I got some new cocoa to try at 50% off, and told Brett to make me chocolate. Unlike my mother, he didn't say "poof! You're chocolate!"
What can I say, my husband is a genious. He nailed the flavor and ingredient proportions in about 10 minutes using only 3 ingredients. I altered it to 4 ingredients, and have been experimenting to try and nail the gritty sugar texture issue. It's a work in progress, but I just might be happy enough to never buy pre-made chocolate again.

INGREDIENTES MATTER. Not all cocoa powder tastes the same,
and cheep coconut oil isn't fragrant. Might take you a few different cocoa powder brands
to find the chocolate flavor that you prefer. 

looks smoother than it is :) Melts in your mouth, but sugar is gritty.

I used some old IKEA ice cube molds I had,
stuck them in the fridge for a while, and popped them out.

So far I've simmered the sugar in water until softball to caramelize it,
but when I blend it together, the sugar just re-chrystalizes,
but at least it is a finer grit. 

Because it's held together by coconut oil, they melt at body temperature,
but they should keep in a cool room for a while.
I just keep them in the fridge to be safe. There (in theory) they would last several weeks. 

Thinking I can fix the gritt issue by making carmel balls
and dipping them into the unsweetened cocoa/coconut oil mixtutre.

My Taste Buds are Growing Up

That day has come:
You know, the day where I begin to realize that I like many many things that I didn't used to. The day you realize you are a nut eating sell-out.


1. Nuts: Pistashios, cashews, hazelnuts sometimes almonds, and even Candied Walnuts in the Walnut Shrimp at the fancy chinese restaurant where Brett's grandma introduced me to edible chines food.

Cashews and pistachios are yummy.

2. Chinese Food:  Provided that it doesn't come from the slime dipped dog meat used at Panda Express (see #1)

Walnut Shrimp

3. Water: I think I've mentioned that a few years ago I stared force feeding myself water, then I started to like, even prefer it. Sometimes I still want a sweet juice, but often, I recognize that what I really crave is water. Speaking of which....

drink me

4. Sparkling Mineral Water: I never understood why people drank this discussing thing, but about a week ago, I started liking even craving it. But it MUST be cold. I wonder if the craving for mineral water is because I need more minerals to make full use of all the vitamins in all the vegetables I've been eating this last week, which leads me to...

5. Vegetables: Once upon a time I only liked carrots and tolerated celery, then I developed an allergy to them both (raw).  A few years ago I started eating spinach with fruits as a salad—mostly for the folic acid, but also because I found that strawberries and vinaigrette made them delicious. A few weeks ago, Carrisa asked me what my favorite lettuce was. I said Spinach. No, it's not really a lettuce, but it is a leafy green that is full of vitimins, and is mild in flavor (if fresh). Yum. Anyhow, a few months ago I tried to eat veggies once a day. I was so bad, I didn't do it unless I had a goal chart to check it off on. Two weeks ago I started trying to eat veggies every time I ate something else. It did miracles for minimizing muchies, plus if I did eat a cookie, at least I ate a veggie (though the sugar probably made the vitimans in the veggie unabsorbable). A week ago, (after some reading on the Word of Wisdom) I realized that my eventual goal should be to decrease meat intake, and up my fruits and veg to 50-75% of my diet (Widstoe didn't recommend that amount specifically, but it had me thinking about health). Have I done it? No, but I have been getting at least my 5-A-Day (when you include my fruit). AND I actually started craving veggies. Seriously. I ran out on friday, Brett had the car all day saturday, couldn't buy any monday, so come Monday I was going CRAZY thinking about veggies, and have been eating about 2 cups of freshly cut and steamed veg a day ever since. Oh. And I finally tried Brussel Sprouts.  They have an evil reputation, but they are actually decent.

Todays Lunch. My mother would be proud. 

6. Honey: I still don't like the taste of Honey on it's own, but it used to be that I didn't like anything that had any recognizeable flavor of honey in it. A year and a half ago I found the mildest Honey I could at the Farmers market to use as a substitute for sugar in some cases. As long as I used the mild honey, I didn't mind so much. Now, I can even put darker richer honeys in my tea or granola, and it doesn't bother me one bit.

7. Maple Syrup: I thought I didn't like pancakes very much, but discovered I didn't like maple syrup (and everyone always gave it to me with syrup on it... not butter or jam). I even tried real maple syrup a few years ago with no such luck. Brett and Carrisa have these maple candies they like. I thought they were discusting. One magical day, I discovered I liked the Kirtland Signature real maple syrup (of all things) on pancakes.  After a few months of occasional use on pancakes and in my homemade granola, a magical thing happened: I took a bite of Brett's maple candy  (nothing but maple syrup) AND I FELL IN LOVE.

For Brett's birthday (to celbrate my last day of sugar before my 3 weeks of no sugar),
I made my own maple candies. They are hard not to over cook though. And expensive to make (or buy).

8. Fish: Aside from canned Tuna and Fishsticks, I just never liked it. Now I know better. It's just gotta be cooked by the right people. At first I only liked salmon, cooked ONE specific way, by Brett or his mom. Then, I started liking a few other varieties I tried. Eventually, I got to the point were I have OCCASIONAL (like 3 times a year) cravings for fish.

Bye Bye Sugar?

Just before halloween I decided that the time has come for me to give up sugar. 
While charting my daily goals on paper, I noticed I hadn't gone a single day without sugar. yikes. But I couldn't bring my self to give it up on the spot, but knew if I didn't commit to doing it, it would never happen. So I did something I never did before. 

I picked a date. No Sugar starts November 5th. 

I hate that mentality... I'm starting my diet on such a such date. I always thought it was silly. If you are going to do it, then do it. Right? Why put it off? But, their was a birthday party coming up, and if I blew it there, I might loose momentum and stop trying. 

So, the sugar fight started Nov 5th. I'm calling it a fight, though it is probably technically a diet.. except I still eat butter and carbs and stuff... but still. 

I allowed myself 1 exception. Tea. Eventually, I'd like to take in no sugar at all. For now though, when I get to the point were I really want that piece of maple candy, I have tea instead, and it works. Here's why: 
1. It keeps me from baking something and allows my mind to drift away from sugar while I am waiting for the kettle to whistle. Half the time my tea gets cold because I'm not craving anymore. Then when I get another craving, I drink my cold tea. 

2. I don't chain drink teas. One glass doesn't make me want another ( like one cookie makes me want 15 more) 

3. If I am in a sweet/ tart mood, Hibiscus tea is fruity enough to sooth me. If I'm munchy, lemon-ginger-tulsi tea makes me feel full. 

The two on the right are my favorites, though I went through a recent brief wild orange phase.

4. If I am feeling chocolaty, I found a recipe for cocoa that uses as much honey as I used in tea (so I don't feel guilty). This, unfortunately, was good enough that for two days I had two cups of cocoa in a row and fought the urge to make more (danger zone, but at least better than brownies). I ran out of my favorite cocoa powder though, and since replaced it with a less yummy powder. It's not as satisfying, but it's not as addictive either. 

Looks Ghetto, but I like it better than hersheys and one Ghridelli variety I tried.  Makes cocoa to tempting for my taste buds

5. I only use caffeine-free herbal teas, so I don't have a caffeine craving drawing me back for more, it won't dehydrate me, and it won't leach calcium from my bones. 

6. I may be taking 1-4 spoons of honey with my tea each day, but it is still (sadly) better for me than the 10 cookies I would have eaten 

7. Honey is still sugar, but it isn't refined, so I feel better about it. Plus, it is only about 25 calories for each cup of tea (vs. a soda, or a juice, or a cookie). I'm not a calorie counter, but It's good for me to be aware of how bad some treats are. 

8. I've set aside a few exceptions (Thanksgiving, one scoop of ice cream at an upcoming birthday). Knowing that I'm not saying good by to my sugar friend forever helps me feel more realistic and more motivated. I'm trying to make sugar consumption an exception, not a rule.


9. I can occasionally substitute a juice or a juice soda instead of a tea, as long as it is just juice and not sugar. 


Now, It's only been a week and a half, but I've cheated twice. 

Still an improvement, but it's taught me this: 

1. If I eat out or if the well intentioned Mr. B microwaves me a burrito, I have a harder time seeing the point of abstaining from sugar. I feel like there was probably already sugar in my pasta sauce, and who knows what kinda chemicals in the burrito, so if I'm not eating healthy then what is the point? 

2. It really does help for others to know what you are trying to do. Several times I wanted to use the "but I already ate crappy food today" excuse, and Mr. B was quick with the "but it wasn't intentional sugar consumption so you can still count today as good." Even though at the end of the day I still didn't feel like it counted, It's still worked most the time at deterring me from a lolly. 

3. I fell for the "you have to try this" and I can't again. I was good and took the tiniest sliver instead of 1/3 the candy bar offered, and I was proud of that at first, but 10 minutes later I ate 7-10 dove chocolates. When I got home, I topped it off with a few hard candies. Checking that "no sugar today" box really is the key to me. 

4. It's easier to say no with a reason. When I tell someone "no, I'm trying to break my sugar addiction so I am trying to go a few weeks without eating any," it reminds me of what I am trying to do and why I am saying no. It often strikes up a conversation about it too. and I noticed that someone who usually offers me and Mr. B ice cream didn't offer us ice cream after I turned down chocolate. 

A GAME PLAN... 
Someone just invited us for pie T.G. night, plus someone (excited about their first TG in their new home) invited us for a Friday T.G., and I am hosting a T.G. lunch for Mr. B's family on Saturday. I don't wan't to exclude myself from the celebrations or insult someone who is excited to share, but I also don't want the whole weekend to be a wash. I've decided I need to plan ahead. 

I know I can't say "I'm only going to have one piece today." Maybe, though, If I plan ahead, I can build up my commitment. I want to figure out today what I will allow myself, and think about it every time I think about my T.G. weekend plans. On the actual days, I will remind myself that if I stick to my allotments and no more, I can still give myself half credit for that day because it wasn't an impulsive decision. Then I can still have the satisfaction of filling out half a bubble on my goal chart at the end of the day.

Rejuvelac

In relation to my last post on fermentation I thought I'd share that earlier this year, I tried to make my own Rejuvelac (fermented tonic which is more or less the water you've sprouted sprouted grain in), and when it was done, I was afraid to drink it.



I did muscle up the courage to try a few tiny sips here and there, but Until I better understand the fermentation-alcohol relation, I'm a little leery of Home fermentation... except with dairy, I'm all about making my own buttermilk and yogurt... I've done that a few times, but haven't mastered it.

Mostly though, I wanted to share the photos of my rejuvelac that have been sitting on my computer since May.

I just realized my external monitor interpret's these photos REALLY YELLOW, which makes me seriously worry how bad my photos might look on some of your computer screens...

Fermentation

I've become fairly interested in learning the Old ways of cooking things... you know, doing things like you were a pre-industrialized farmer:

• eating food as if 90% of your meals did not contain Soy and corn that has had it's genetics altered in a lab (and shown to cause infertility in rats that ate it),
  
• drinking raw milk that hasn't had been homogenized and pasteurized until the good bacteria (that helped you process the lactose) had been destroyed,
  
• eating jam that does not contain (cleverly renamed on the label) bever anus juices to enhance that strawberry flavor
  
• and eating Ground beef that grew up (Baby Ground beefs are so cute!) with room to walk and a diet that wild ground beefs would actually eat...AND NOT ground beefs that were raised eating scrap pieces of it's brother ground beef (who died from mad cow disease)

So one of these pre-industrialized food concepts I am I'm still trying to understand is span style="font-weight:bold;">fermentation. Fermentation has become so uncomon in modern culture, and because of it's unfamiliarity and it's association with alcohol, it kinda freeks me out. Fermentation can be non alcoholic. It all has to do with what you are fermenting, how long you ferment it, etc. Some Fermented soda's have no alcohol—others have the alcoholic content of drinking a smoothie with a stitch of vanilla extract. If I understand my reading correct, some fermentation produces alcohol as a by-product, while others produce lactic acid... or maybe it produces both simultaneously. I'm pretty confused

Anyhow, I've been trying to consider these things as I try to decide whether or not I will drink fermented sodas and such, especially if I decide to try and make my own—the concern being that I am quite happy being a good little mormon girl and I fully intend on staying that way, but I also don't think it is right to be one of those crazies who make up their own commandments and scorn others for using face cream with (gasp) green tea in it.

Some thoughts:

• The LDS apostles haven't advised against use of buttermilk (fermented milk) or vanilla extract (alcohol), or Niquil, so fermentation itself is not evil, and minuscule amounts of alcohol are probably Letter of the Law vs. Spirit of the Law issues... This is why I will occasionally cook with alcohol (but if I share those foods with others, I tell them first so that they can make an informed decision on whether they are comfortable with eating something with alcohol cooked out. )
  
• Prior to the days of CO2 cartridges, Sodas were carbonated using light fermentation. These were considered children appropriate.
  
• LDS Pioneers made their own fermented root/ginger beers
  
• Fermentation contains bacteria live active culture, which is is supposedly good for your intestines, because it helps replenish the Intestinal FLORA you used to have to help you digest foods, but antibiotic meds kill off


Anyhow, I've kinda come to the conclusion that I, personally, am comfortable with fermented sodas. Many, like these Cas Cal's, are NON alcoholic:

So far I have tried 3 of their flavors: I don't like the Light Red flavor ( notes of black currant and mirabelle), I've liked the Crisp White 1 out of the 3 times I tried it ( notes of pear, apricot and Magnolia), and I actually enjoyed the Ripe Rouge ( notes of cherry , chocolate and rose) the one time I tried it (and chocolate soda sounded creepy to me after that last chocolate soda I had, yuck)

I also recently tried three varieties of Fetiman's fermented sodas. These ones contain LESS THAN .05% ALCOHOL. It scared me, a lot so I sipped slowly at first. Tried the Ginger beer and the Dandelion and Burdock. It didn't alter my mood (like Chocolate), Impair me physically (like my allergies do), and it wasn't addictive (like sugar, gotta get me some SUGAR). Oh charlotte, you think you are sooooo clever and funny. I decided I feel okay about (well, technically "less than") .05% alcohol content (I put vanilla extract in my smothies.. so that's probably about the same alcohol content), but it didn't really matter because that I didn't really like either one of those sodas.
So, so far, not much a fan of the the fermented sodas, though B's mom bought this one that I Rather liked and would like to try again. It's a Rose LEmonade. As opposed to Rose Lemonade


It's also a fentiman's brand, but for some reason the company doesn't list it on their website

Oh, Easter

Ya, Easter was a while ago, but I thought I'd show you some of the things Brett and Carrisa made and apparently photographed while I stayed in the other room and worked out the last of my coughs, and slept off the tail end of that cold.

Tomato soup from scratch... which is by far my fave tomato soup. Good Job Julia Child, Good Job.



They also made the Boursin from the recipe I discovered, tested, and approved a week earlier. FYI... Boursin is pretty much cream cheese and butter, but with a ton of herbs. Consume in moderation.




We used the lamb cut we had the most of, and as it turns out, it wasn't a great cut. Too grisly, by far. Oh well, We can't win everything.


My 4 seed bread was going to a part of it, but since Brett insisted on buying croissants and lunch meat, I didn't rush to make it the day before, put it off till last minute, and it didn't quite make it out onto the table.


Have I ever told you how much I love my silpat (above). I'd heard such great things about them online, and then I found one at a garage sale for 50 cents... unopened. The lady said it was too big for her pan. I figured if it was too big for mine, I'd just let it overhang. Turns out it was perfectly sized for mine.

Anyhow, we had more food, Can't remember specifically what. Pretty much every one decided to show up with a desert, so there was no shortage of sugar! Isn't that so exciting? that is why I gave it an explanation mark.

The end.