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Yay! A Little Craft Space for Me.

Hubs and I just spent the weekend reorganizing our bedroom and building a tiny crafting space in what used to be our

I’m On A Highway To Hell

Hubs and I just spent the weekend reorganizing our bedroom and building a tiny crafting space in what used to be our closet. It’s very small, but I’m still so excited to be able to reclaim that space for just myself. Sounds selfish, I know. In my defense, I have spent the last six months essentially on lockdown with 2 teenage boys who are learning to play the guitar. The electric guitar. With amps…loud ones. And what are they playing, you may be asking? 80’s rock…incessant power chords…all. day. long. Six hours a day of War Pigs and Hell’s Bells.

Have I mentioned that I am more of a 90’s girl? I lay the blame for their abhorrent taste in music firmly at their father’s door. Speaking of Doors, my father who raised little ol’ me on 60’s rock icons, like The (aforementioned) Doors, Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and lesser known bands such as Ultimate Spinach, has taken to wavering between wanting to disown my little ingenues, and begrudgingly dipping a toe in the muddied waters of countless washed up (80’s) rock bands; the same bands, I might add, that he gave me endless hell for listening to in my youth, and thereby cementing my disdain for hair bands forevermore. I’m not sure if I should feel sorry for him, or if it’s really just Nirvana for my soul;) The things grandparents will do for the kiddos. It amuses me greatly.

For the record, The Ingenues love Ultimate Spinach, too.

Needless to say all of this ceaseless noise is putting even my legendary patience to the test. I’ve contemplated taking up excessive drinking, Ozzy Osbourne style; my logic being: I know that the playing won’t stop, but at least I’ll be in the proper state of mind to enjoy it. The flaw in my Plan being that I am still responsible for schooling the smallest fry. Hence, I fear the powers that be may frown upon an education that centers on “How to Make the Perfect Mimosa”(also known as Simple Breakfasts for Mummies), “Online Shopping Skills: Finding The Most effective Earplugs), and Music Theory: How to Know When Your Taste in Music is Garbage.

Since The Plan reeks of failure, with no hope of black-balling The Ingenues and lousy 80’s rock in the foreseeable future, I’ve decided to re-immerse myself in my hobbies…and wine. Naturally, the money making “hobby-job” takes precedence, so the soap studio takes up more real estate but, I’ve tried to leave myself room to fit a bit of sewing/fiber arts in. I like to dabble in rag quilts. And I do mean dabble. I’m still learning the basics but it’s very relaxing and fun. I just picked up these three fabrics for quilting. I loved the fall colors.

To be clear, this does not imply that this “fall” quilt will be completed anytime this actual fall.

Quilting Organization

The cabinet that I repurposed for my space was previously holding a monstrous amount of the boys’ puppet pelts, and puppet making supplies, which they were once fanatical about, and still turn back to from time to time. I had to wrestle that mess into submission before I could move it into the space and organize it for my purposes.

I still haven’t figured where to put the fiber arts supplies!

I also have a fair amount of yarn and knitting/crocheting supplies, to find room for, even though they rarely get used. I keep them “just in case” I suddenly decide that I am going to take the time to learn all of the stitches that I have been avoiding learning since I bought said knit/crochet supplies seven or eight years ago…it could happen??

I tried to separate my meager cabinet into to even spaces. One for sewing, one for soaping, 50/50. It seemed to be working well until I moved the things from my downstairs soaping space into my upstairs space, then it took over, completely and it ended up being closer to 70/30. I’m still happy though to have carved out even that much space for sewing. I plan to just keep adding shelves and hooks until I completely run out of wall space, with the intent to fit most of my quilting notions on the empty side wall next to my sewing machine.

Since we’ve moved up north I’ve been putting many of my hobbies on the back burner. At first, it was because we were doing extreme demo and reno on the house. Then, as things settled down with the house we had medical issues to contend with, and deeply unhappy kids, who did not want to move here, so I put all of my energy into them and trying to “fix things”. It seems though, that they have found their revenge, courtesy of High Voltage Rock and Roll, so I think it’s time for me to retreat to my craft space and hope I survive this pandemic with sanity and hearing intact.

Soaping Organization

I have been struggling for years to keep a steady, organized supply of ingredients on hand, without them overtaking my entire life. As all favorite hobbies are prone to do, soaping, for me, consumes a ridiculous amount of real estate in my home. I like to keep things fairly minimal, as a general rule, but the soaping is one place that I fail to maintain it. There’s just so many intriguing recipes to toy with. Likewise, there’s the old favorites, and standbys, that everyone loves. I always try to come through with everyone’s favorite bar, when they ask. I can’t stop buying ingredients, and mix-ins. It’s hard! The ideas just flow and flow, and before you know it, you’ve ordered 15 things you didn’t really need, but just can’t wait to try out. Hubs is just as bad as I am. We’ve been soaping together for 11 yrs now, and we just. can’t. stop. We both have our favorites that we love to make and definitely enable each other to keep buying and buying. When we first started out, he thought I was insane! Like: “Why would you make soap?? You can buy it for, like, 2 bucks!” It’s so much fun, now, to watch him completely geek out over soap recipes and ingredients, just like I do. We all have our vices…but ours is cleaner;)

The worst thing about keeping the soap studio organized is that you are trying your best to buy in bulk, so the containers are huge and unmanageable. If your studio is small, like mine, it’s very difficult to find space. Plus, you really don’t want to look at the mess everyday in your home, hence the cabinet with doors to hide some of it behind. We do plan to build a large outbuilding, eventually for soaping but we are really focused, too, on enjoying our last few years with our teenagers. The smallest fry will be twelve this year, so we know that the time with him will fly by as well, so we are not rushing into it right now. We both know that it will come, in due time.

We decided to put in eight small shelves that should give me a bit of storage space for products up here, and an area to wrap soap and label, as well. It should be just enough space to do small batches up here.

I still have many more shelves to add for product, but this is a definite start.

As it fills up, I can then, run it to the downstairs storage space for holding until it gets shipped. It’s a bit more running, but it should work really well for us, and more importantly, give me a quieter space to work in. I did consider actually soundproofing the space, but thought that might be taking it a little too far. This pandemic has to end sometime, right? Right??

In short, this is how I’ve decided to try to cope with the craziness going on…I intend to ignore it all and possibly find a new hobby that I love. How are all of you coping through this pandemic? Feel free to leave me a comment and check out my wishful thinking pinterest sewing board: “sew not gonna happen“. Hope you are all happy and well. Thanks for reading!

Morning Sun Breakfast Pita

Hubs and I have been putting in a patio and fire pit this week. Generally, when we are working on the interior of the house, it’s me

The Patio Project

Hubs and I have been putting in a patio and fire pit this week. Generally, when we are working on the interior of the house, it’s me telling him the outcome I’m looking for and him doing the bulk of the work. Outside though, I feel like I can be a little more hands on. Pretty much anyone can dig, rake and haul gravel. We are finishing up the exterior siding as well, so we have been pretty busy this month, so far.

Since we have gotten the base of the patio area finished I just don’t want to be inside at all. At. All. The first thing I did was drag an old folding table and a couple of benches over to use as a makeshift picnic table. I’m writing from that spot right now. It’s not pretty, but it works.

The most relaxing workspace in the yard.

The Diet Dilemma

The weather has been perfect here lately. It’s grilling season and we have chosen give up all meat. As in, no cheats. No, just this once. This hadn’t even bothered me, after all we’ve been doing this flexatarian thing, to varying degrees and percentages, for a very long time. That is, until I stopped by my parents’ house. They were making Chiavetta’s chicken. Is that a local thing? I’m not sure how familiar people outside of this area are with Chiavetta’s chicken. Maybe it’s a national thing now? If not, it should be.

So there I was, standing in the kitchen with the scent of Chiavetta’s wafting by…and that’s what it is. It’s the scent. Nothing else smells like that, and all I could think is, “I can’t have chicken (of course I can, if I wanted to). Chiavetta’s tofu?? I think not. What can I put this deliciously pungent, herby, savory, delectable sauce on…that isn’t going to completely suck?” My friends?…I still haven’t figured that out. Portabellas? Yeah sure, but it’s not even going to come close. Definitely NOT tofu. Tempeh? Nope…well, crap.

I tell you this tale, not because I’ve found the answer, but to tell you how I wound up standing in front of the freezer section staring at the newest Morningstar meat replacement options. We have not even considered them since our first dance with veganism in 2006. Wow, have they come a long, long way. I did not find anything to replace grilled chicken breast, but I did walk out with the chicken patty substitute, and some Italian sausage-like crumbles. With that, this recipe begins.

Why the Patio Project

Since we have put in the patio and I no longer care to live inside the house, Hubs has to come to the patio whenever he needs to speak to me. [Remember, that I have spent the last 2.5 months quarantined with multiple teenage boys, who chose this exact inopportune moment (months) to learn to play the guitar. Loudly. Indoors. Beside me.] If he needs sustenance, he has to come to the patio. I will, briefly, enter the house to make food, for now, because we haven’t even started on the outdoor kitchen.

This morning he came to the patio to drink our morning coffee together and give me pitiful looks until I offered to go in and make some food. He had been working on the siding for a while, so I took pity on his starving self and decided to make these delicious breakfast pitas. Seeing as I don’t intend to spend more than 15 minutes indoors, unless there a.) is a snowstorm or b.) a tornado blows my patio away, I needed to keep my cooking time short and create something that could be hauled back out to the patio with ease. These pitas fit the bill. We’ll just jump right in.

Ingredients List: Pitas

Whole Wheat Pitas
Sweet Potatoes
Avocado
Morningstar Italian Sausage Crumbles
Spring Onions
Crumbled Queso
Parsley

Ingredients: Sauce

1/2 C. Greek Yogurt
1 Clove Minced Garlic
1 tbsp. Olive Oil
1 tbsp. Lemon Juice
1 tsp honey
Pinch of Himalayan Pink Salt
Pinch of Cracked Black Pepper
Parsley

If you choose not to consume dairy, feel free to leave off the queso and sub green goddess dressing for the yogurt based dressing. We have added small amounts of dairy and eggs back into our diet after many years of not eating them, but that’s a story for another day. Pro Tip: Use the sweet potatoes in the microwave bag, to save a ton of time and work.

For the sauce: Add Greek yogurt, olive oil, honey and lemon juice to a small bowl. Mix well. Add minced garlic, salt, pepper, and parsley, mix until smooth. Set aside.

Add a tbsp of Olive Oil to a skillet. Cook sweet potatoes in microwave for 5 minutes, or until done. Add Morningstar Italian sausage crumbles, cook until browning, slice sweet potatoes and add to pan, browning on both sides. Remove from heat, set aside. Slice avocado. Layer Italian sausage crumbles, sweet potatoes and avocado into pita, top with queso. Add a dollop or ten of yogurt sauce and sprinkle with a little more parsley and chopped spring onions.

That’s it! Give this quick and delicious breakfast pita a try. It makes a wonderful healthy breakfast for a hot summer morning in the sun. It tastes better from a patio, obviously, but to each her own;)

Feel free to share your foodie pics with me on insta #canigetaramen. Find me on social media: FB and Pinterest @canigetaramen.food.blog. Or drop us a line in the comments section!

Vegetarian Options in Olean

Since moving to the Western Pa/Western NY area, Hubs and I have been struggling to find restaurants that offer food that we feel…

Since moving to the Western Pa/Western NY area, Hubs and I have been struggling to find restaurants that offer food that we feel good about eating. We live on the border of PA/NY so we spend much of our time in western NY. So far we have found Tasty Time in Allegany, NY, which offers fresh healthy Asian cuisine and Grand Slam in Allegany NY, which is a little healthier version of typical American fare. The problem for us is that we are trying to stay as close to plant based as possible, but we are definitely in carnivore country here. I would describe us as more flexitarian, but we try to stay around 90-95% plant based.

There’s a great little smoothie place in Olean, but I usually have a smoothie first thing in the a.m., so by the time I make it into town, I am looking for solid food. My go-to is Four Mile Brewing in Olean. They have multiple plant based options on the menu, all delicious. Plus Brews. The atmosphere is great there, and you can learn about brewing beer while you wait. Win.

In our own tiny town there are no sit down restaurants, (it’s a very small town), so we end up driving about 20 miles whenever we want to eat anything that we don’t have to cook ourselves. Well, this is essentially a food blog, so clearly I like to cook, but I do enjoy the occasional break from the kitchen clean up. Who doesn’t, right?

This area has come such a long way from the pizza and wing capital that it was in our youth. The options have improved greatly; there is beginning to be quite a diverse selection of food choices. I have not had the chance to try all of the restaurants around. I know that I have missed so many. I can’t wait for locals to educate me on this topic. I love trying new restaurants, and everything is so different than when we were here before. A lot can happen in ten years in a smallish town like Olean. So much has changed for the better.

Remember I mentioned pizza capital and all that? It is Western New York, after all. Being part of the local Honest Restaurant Review page on FB led us to a place that we had never heard of here, called Brooklyn Bakery. (It’s a bakery, yes, but it’s really all about the pizza.) With a name like that you expect great things. They did not disappoint. Being plant based we, of course, skipped the American Classic, cheese and pepperoni. That hurt a little. We went with the Garlic Charred Mushroom instead.

I will never eat another pizza so long as I live. (Unless it’s Mellow Mushroom. Holy Shiitake.)

Words can’t describe how in love with this pizza we are. The pizza that I truly miss from the Orlando area is a pizza shop called Giovanni’s. New York style, thick pepperoni, thin crust….ah-mazing! This Brooklyn Bakery pizza held it’s own every bite of the way. You don’t even miss the pepperoni. Now that’s good pizza. There are also a couple of vegetarian options on the menu, a pesto based sauce, and a white pizza, meat free. My son’s birthday is coming up and he is already planning the pizzas he will order from Brooklyn Bakery. Plus brownies. I kinda can’t wait, myself.

If you live in the Olean NY area, and are a flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, or raw foodie I would love to hear from you, in the comments, about the plant based options for food around here. I know that there are like minded people here but I have yet to run across them. If you are going to be here from out of town, I hope I, at least, gave you a few options to try for the plant based diet, if that’s your thing too. Thanks for reading!

Simple Summertime Pineapple Mask For Smoother, Glowing Skin.

I wanted to share an easy recipe for a delicious pineapple face mask. It reads more like a smoothie recipe, than a…

I wanted to share an easy recipe for a delicious pineapple face mask. It reads more like a smoothie recipe, than a skin care recipe. (Light bulb moment!) It will produce the smoothest, glowiest, glass skin possible with just a few kitchen ingredients, that you probably already have lying around. I use this mask for softening, exfoliation and removing dark spots on the face. I find that it also helps relieve facial tension, which is a huge contributor to premature aging of skin. This mask can be used a couple times a week to improve your skin’s appearance for better makeup free, summer skin. Here’s the list of ingredients that you will need:

Ingredients

Pineapple Powder (You can substitute fresh pineapple, crushed)
Ground Coriander
Raw Honey
Coconut Milk
Coconut Oil, melted

Benefits for Skin:

Pineapple

The skin soothing benefits of pineapple are well proven. Pineapple is known to even out skin tone, remove unwanted pigmentation in skin, and revive a healthy glow. If your skin is looking and feeling a bit lackluster, try this mask twice a week, and get ready to see your skin glowing again. Don’t go overboard though, pineapple can be drying to the skin if used too frequently. The next ingredients in our list are designed to combat that.

Coriander

The benefits of coriander for the skin abound. It is loaded with antioxidants. It helps ward off breakouts. It can help delay wrinkles and offset fine lines. We are using it in this recipe to combat and protect against stress and degeneration of skin. If you do not have ground coriander, fresh cilantro will do just fine. Just crush and add to the pineapple.

Raw honey

Honey is an ancient skin care ingredient. It is so good for your skin that it’s the preferred facial cleanser of many. Honey nurtures the skin like nothing else. It is an antibacterial, humectant, ultra-soothing balm that fights breakouts, redness and dryness all at once.

Coconut Milk

Coconut Milk is very high in Vitamin C, which is vital for skin health. It fights age spots, and wrinkles. It gives skin a firmer appearance. It is high in copper, which is essential for collagen production, and lauric acid for antimicrobial properties.

Coconut Oil

Coconut oil has too many skin benefits to count. It is necessary for collagen production, to retain skin’s elasticity and leaves skin hydrated for 24 hrs after use. It reduces inflammation, and protects against harmful free radicals.It also heals wounds and treats acne.

Mix Recipe:

In small bowl, add a tbsp of powdered pineapple and a tsp. of ground coriander. Mix until well combined. Add a tsp of Honey, mix well. Melt a tsp of coconut oil, in microwave, and add to recipe. Mix. Add a tsp. of coconut milk and blend until smooth. First, make sure your face is clean and free of makeup. Apply to face and neck and leave on for 5-10 minutes. (If your skin is sensitive, you might want to test it on your hand first to make sure it doesn’t bother you. If it makes your skin red, you could lessen the amount of pineapple powder in the recipe and try it again.) Lie back and let the mask do it’s work. Rinse off with warm water. Follow this mask with a hydrating massage. I love to use raw shea butter and aloe. This makes a great night time routine.

Please give this recipe a try and let me know what you think in the comments. Enjoy your lovely summer skin!

How to Combat the Overwhelm.

This morning I read another article highlighting the struggle of parents, trying to work from home, school their children,

This morning I read another article highlighting the struggle of parents, trying to work from home, school their children, keep up with the house, adult properly, and stay sane. It’s a tough gig, on every front. Added all together, this is more than any human being is equipped to handle alone. I have to be honest, and admit that I’ve been doing this homeschool deal for so long, that I don’t always stop to remember how overwhelming it was in the beginning.

Our introduction to homeschooling happened, for us, at the worst possible time in our life, when we had just moved across the country, from a very small town, to Orlando, FL with three kids under the age of 7. I had no intention of homeschooling my kids. Ever. But life is funny. I ended up pregnant with kiddo #4, who had a bevvy of medical issues and needed countless surgeries. I was living at the hospital, for months, with an infant in the NICU, my husband was working two hours away from home, and I had three kids in school. I couldn’t possibly keep up with everything that I had going on. Thankfully, my parents and sister were there to lean on.

I was used to dealing with a small town school system, the same one I attended myself. Suddenly I was in a city where I knew nobody, my kids were locked inside a scary looking, rundown C rated school all day. The first day I dropped them off, I cried all the way home. I couldn’t talk to the teachers, to let them know what our family was going through, and I wasn’t sure they’d even care. My kids were completely overwhelmed in an inner city school, and falling behind in their work. They had loads of work that they brought home every night, plus agendas and papers to sign, work to organize and the school was begging for parental involvement, but I was never available, because I was at the hospital with a very sick baby. I felt so guilty and I worried about them incessantly. As, if I didn’t have enough on my plate, I made the insane decision to keep them home, and sign them up for the K-12 program.

At this same time, my infant had been just been given a tracheostomy, and a feeding tube in his abdomen, so I was learning the very intimidating task of trach care and g-tube care, and now I had three kids to homeschool in the couple hours a day that I was actually home with them, but i knew that they were safe and we would get through it somehow.

At this time, as people often will in a crisis, friends stopped calling, everyone backed away from us, and I felt like I was being ostracized for having a “flawed” baby. Of course that’s crazy, but it’s how I felt at the time. As time went on, I realized that it’s much more likely that they just didn’t know what to say, or how to help, but in the midst of it I felt completely abandoned and isolated. It struck me this morning while reading that that is how overwhelmed and isolated others are feeling right now.

I have to make a real effort to remember how this felt, because, quite frankly, I try not to recall it often, but when I hear how people are struggling right now, I can put myself in their shoes, and deeply empathize with them, because I remember how desolate things felt to me then. The kids were the highlight of my life but the weight of the responsibility of them was drowning me. The adjustment period was brutal. It took a while to adjust to having the kids with me all of the time, which I now love, but didn’t always feel exactly that way.

To make a long story short, I was in way over my head with homeschooling, but the K-12 program helped us bump along through the rest of that school year and the next fall my kids went back to public school. We had moved back to an rated A school district, with excellent schools. It ended up being an excellent temporary solution for our family. Once my life settled down to manageable again a few years later, and the boys were a bit older, we decide to try homeschooling again, using K-12, at the time, with much success. It just worked for our family, and still does. This does not mean homeschooling is going to work for every family, nor should it. But I can tell you that the chaos is temporary. You will find your rhythm, and it will get easier. When you are too overwhelmed take a break. Take many breaks. The kids are going to be feel the same, as well. They will also need breaks, and time to just be kids. It’s okay to take time to just be a mom. The work will still be there.

When we were doing the K-12 program, we spoke with teachers on Fridays, they kept the kids on track, and kept the facilitator (parent) informed of progress, and areas that needed more work. They were very clear that the child is solely, responsible for their work; your job is to facilitate. That’s it. It helped to keep the boundaries clear. If you are lucky enough to have public school teachers that agree with this mindset, embrace it, work as closely with those teachers as you can, and don’t be afraid to let them know when you or your child are overwhelmed. Your child’s teacher knows that you did not sign on for this, and they understand how hard it is. They do it every day with 20+ children. They know your child’s strengths and weaknesses, academically. You, as the parent, will learn them quickly, and paired with your knowledge of their character strengths, you will find a way to help them thrive. Don’t forget though,that this situation is harder on them, so don’t get too bogged down in the particulars. Try to cut them some slack, at times, and keep in mind that they are human too. Don’t let the school work become more important than the relationship.

I wish you all the best during this overwhelming situation. Know that it’s temporary. You should not hesitate to reach out for any helping hand you can find right now. We all need to lean on each other, a little more, right now. When you begin to feel isolated call a friend or a family member. Don’t become too bogged down before giving yourself a break. Remember that you are not superhuman, nor are you expected to be. Take care of yourselves, and I hope you and your families are all staying safe.

Quarantine Florentine Pasta Bake

Anyone who cooks (or bakes) often knows that the same devil may care cooking style that causes you to dump an entire batch of cookie dough that completely

Anyone who cooks (or bakes) often knows that the same devil may care cooking style that causes you to dump an entire batch of cookie dough that completely flopped can also create some of the most amazing dishes you have ever tasted. This is kind of a story of both. It started out with a phone conversation with my father, in which he was telling me about his quarantine trip to the grocery store; we discussed how hard it is right now to find simple ingredients, and he ended by telling me that he managed to set hands on all of the ingredients for their lasagna recipe, and he went on to tell me that they were having it for dinner that night. (Braggart.) Well, that’s just mean, right? So you know what happens next. It digs a hook in my mind…one word. Lasagna.

Now, being that I live with 5 dudes, you can guess that I keep a pretty well stocked pantry, most of the time, but alas, I did not have the ingredients for lasagna on hand. Buuut, I had loads of chicken that I just finished cooking in the crockpot, and spinach, ricotta etc, so I thought “Great! I’ll make a white lasagna, I’ll just make the noodles from scratch.” This made my food envy situation immensely improved, and I went on about my day. As Saturdays often do, the day flew by me. I looked at the clock and realized that it was almost 6:00 pm, and I had done nothing to prepare for the fantastic white lasagna dish that had been simmering in my thoughts all day. (Yes, I really do dwell on food this much.) No worries though, as a mother it is literally my job to perform miraculous feats, in and out of the kitchen, and I do take this job quite seriously, so I was not worried, overmuch.

I love this moment. (Not my photo) Looks promising, right? Oh, how wrong.

I grabbed a lasagna dough recipe from the internet, my stand mixer, followed the recipe to the letter, watched it mix and ended up with a rock hard lump of dough that could not even be rolled out with a rolling pin. Now, this did not surprise me, actually, because I have only ever made pasta by hand mixing on the counter. You know, the flour pile… you crack the eggs in the center…I had that momentary red flag, yet I ignored it, because I was in a hurry. I added some water to soften it a bit, hoping for a miracle, and ended up with a soggy mess. Well, if you know me at all, you know that I am a firm believer in failing early and often, so recognizing this for the shite show that it was aiming to be, I dumped it straight into the trash and glanced at the clock. It was now 6:25 p.m., and ma dudes have been working outside all day. They are looking at me like a pack of starving wolves, and I am standing in the kitchen empty-handed, with no dinner plan in sight. Well, I had planned on pasta, so pasta it shall be. I rifled through the pasta side of the quarantine pantry, which is starting to look a little bare, to find only a couple family sized boxes of cheap dried spaghetti, and one sad, lonely box of tri-colored rotini. Rotini it is. I was feeling a little sad too, over the lasagna, but I was pulling whatever ingredients went together out of the fridge and freezer and hoping for inspiration to strike. It did. In a big, big way. I seized upon the ricotta, mozzerella and pepperoni slices and chicken, sun-dried tomatoes, red peppers. If I couldn’t have lasagna for dinner then I was going to have the next best thing, although I still wasn’t really sure what that was going to be.

On a side note, I have to be fair, and tell you that I did not get any process photos, at all, perhaps because I was, sort of, pouting to myself about lasagna, and didn’t even think about adding this to the blog until it was half gone. Sorry about that. I was thinking about dinner, not blogging. Back to the story.

I had a half formed plan in the back of my mind, but the sort that’s more like “this can’t possibly work, but I’m doing it anyway.” I would make a cheese sauce from evaporated milk and mozzerella and spinach. I would layer the rotini in, in place of lasagna noodles, and add chicken and pepperoni in place of the meat sauce and sausage that I normally use in lasagna, add ricotta, and top with more mozzerella, olive oil and spices, in a lasagna pattern, and see how it all turned out. I dumped it all in my good lasagna pan, and waited with baited breath. Well, all I can say, is that it turned out Delicious. Delectable. Truly. Extra cheesy, savory with the sun-dried tomatoes, a little spicy from the peppers. Everything you could want in one dish. Ma dudes were seriously impressed. Now, if you know us well, you might be thinking, “I’m sure that doesn’t take much. If it’s food, they’re impressed.” You wouldn’t be wrong, exactly, but this dish would impress almost anybody who likes Italian style food. With a salad, and a good loaf of bread, it’s Sunday Dinner worthy, or even holiday worthy. Imagine that, and made from my sad little quarantine pantry. You can make an equally impressive meal, from your own little quarantine pantry. Let’s get you started:

I wish I had gotten that fresh from the oven, cheesy, bubbling photo, you know the one. Instead, I got this. Cold…after I had eaten.

Here’s a list of all the ingredients I used, but I would just say use whatever you have in your fridge that you love in your pasta.

I used Rotini, but you can use whatever pasta you have on hand.
Ricotta
Shredded Chicken, pre-cooked.
Pepperoni Slices, I used the larger sandwich slices.
Mozzarella
Olive Oil
Oregano, I used dried.
Parsley, I used dried.
Red Pepper Flakes

For the Sauce:

Evaporated Milk
Garlic, minced
Shredded Mozzarella
Red Peppers, minced
Sun-dried tomatoes, minced
1/2 cup frozen spinach
Oregano, to taste
Parsley, to taste
Red Pepper Flakes, to taste
Black Pepper, to taste
Sea salt, to taste

Boil pasta water. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Remove from heat, and drain in colander.

Heat evaporated milk in sauce pan. Add spinach, garlic, red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes (don’t be afraid to go heavy on the sun-dried tomatoes, as much of the flavor in the sauce comes from them) and spices, heat through, let simmer about 6-10 minutes. Add mozzarella, and combined until melted and semi-thick sauce forms. Remove from heat. Set aside.

In a lasagna pan, drizzle bottom with 2 tbsp. of olive oil, then add pasta. Top with a small amount of sauce, lightly covering noodles. Add shredded chicken, then top with a layer of pepperoni slices, top that with ricotta, then more sauce, then mozzarella. Next drizzle with a little more olive oil, then top with oregano, parsley, and red pepper flakes. Repeat until you run out of ingredients. Now, some people are very particular about the order that everything goes into lasagna in. I’m not. Plus, lest we forget, this isn’t lasagna. Anything goes. The closer I get to the top of the pan, whatever’s left goes on however it fits. If it fits, it sits. The most important step though, is the top layer of mozzarella, drizzled with olive oil and herbs. Once everything is in the pan, bake at 400, until bubbly and browned. Let cool for about 10-15 minutes, then serve hot.

This recipe heats up beautifully the next day as well. I can tell you this honestly, as I’m finishing off the last piece of this recipe, as I type. Still amazing. I hope you give this one a try with whatever quarantine pasta ingredients you have lying around your pantry. When you do, let me know what variations you create, in the comments. Or share your photos with us on instagram @canigetaramen. On FB and Pinterest we can be found @canigetaramen.food.blog. Have a safe and happy Monday.

Is It Time To Start Your Side Hustle?

I keep reading article after article, stating expectations for everyone in quarantine to come out of this crisis better than they went in. While I don’t necessarily agree with this mentality; I feel like people have enough stress on them right now, just dealing with this new way of life; if you do have the ability to find something positive (such as personal growth) to focus on, it’s probably a good idea to pursue it. There are so many people at home alone right now, and while some of us are desperate for a few minutes of quiet, others are intensely lonely, and in dire need of company. Finding a common goal, and some people on line to share it with, might be what it takes to keep you mentally healthy through this prolonged isolation. Or maybe you just need something to take the focus off of your endless to do list at home and remind you that you are a person in your own right again. It seems that everyone is starting a side hustle right now, because of the job insecurity that this virus has caused, worldwide. While this will increase competition in most industries, there has never been a time that there are so many free (and paid) resources to help you start a small business. Shopify is a great place to start. They are currently running a free trial which I have been delving into. Dropshipping seems to be their specialty, which I don’t, yet, know that much about, but there are many resources on Youtube, to get you started. If you have been ruminating on a side hustle for a while, today is the day to start.

After being (mostly) cheerfully stuck together in quarantine for a few weeks now, the boys and I have started on a new side hustle. Having, myself, a background in skin care and food blogging, paired with the boys’ love of all things gaming, pop culture and conventions, added to our love of over the top birthday and holiday celebrations, the idea for a gifting business sort of fell into our laps. We’ve been working on melding all of our talents, interests and quirks into an opportunity that will keep us happily working together during this unique situation. We’ve spent the last few weeks creating a new line of spa products, which will fill luxury spa baskets, starting right before Mother’s Day. Because birthdays are our favorite celebration, we will focus, as well, on festive pop culture toys, and collectibles and other birthday oriented gift hampers, aimed at both children, and adults, alike. Plus, we are sourcing items for housewarming gifts, and, unique foodie trays/baskets meant for themed dinner parties, entertaining, anniversaries, date nights, and other special occasions. It’s certainly not a new idea, but it’s a good fit for us, being that it incorporates many of our favorite things, in one engaging opportunity, which can be achieved from home, and online as well, making it the perfect quarantine enterprise, for us.

I hope that all of you are staying healthy and engaged in life. I hope that you find what you need to come through these troublesome times with your health and relationships intact, and having learned something to take with you into the future. Stay well.

Add Vitamin C Rich Foods to Boost Immunity.

We all know that foods high in vitamin C are useful for warding off cold and flu. But are you aware that Vitamin C is utilized in…

We all know that foods high in vitamin C are useful for warding off cold and flu. But are you aware that Vitamin C is utilized in the production of muscle, cartilage, bone collagen, and blood vessels? Plus, being that Vitamin C is being used in large quantities to fight Covid-19, this is one vitamin that you don’t want to skip. While nobody has immunity to Covid-19, it wouldn’t hurt to up your C intake for the time being.

It’s common knowledge that oranges are high in vitamin C, with 51 mg in one small orange, but a did you know that a small grapefruit can contain 68 mg of vitamin C? A single grapefruit, tossed into your morning smoothie can give you over 80-100% of your daily recommended intake of Vitamin C. The recommended dose, on the low end is 65-90 mg, depending on your size. If you are aiming to ward off colds and viruses, though, your intake needs to be much, much higher. Closer to 1500mg. Of course you can take one of the many, kinda pricey, Vitamin C boosting products on the market, and you probably should during flu season, but how do you keep your levels up for an extended period of time with out resorting to daily Vitamin C packets? You add it into your diet of course. How to do that? Regularly eat these foods, throughout the day:

Broccoli

One cup of chopped broccoli contains a whopping 81 mg. of vitamin C. The bad news is that cooking it reduces the vitamin content. If you can’t stand to eat it raw, choose gentle steaming. This reduces the vitamin content by only 9-15%. Add raw broccoli into your smoothies and salads. Steamed broccoli makes a great side dish to almost every meal.

Cantaloupe

One cup of cubed cantaloupe has 58 mg of Vitamin C. It’s also loaded with vitamins A & K, beta carotene, potassium, folate, and fiber. Cantaloupe can be served lightly grilled, fresh, cubed in a salad, or added to your morning smoothie. It is delicious alongside strawberries, and blueberries, for a simple breakfast, with yogurt, or even wheat toast.

Cauliflower

Some people love it, some people hate it. It’s the only vegetable that I struggle to eat. I do eat it, but I don’t love it. This is unfortunate, because cauliflower has 51 mg of C per 1 cup serving. I prefer it raw, with hummus, or on a flatbread, mixed with other, hopefully overpowering, vegetables that I do like. Some people love to mix it in with mashed potatoes, or rice it, make dough with it. This is one health trend that I can not get on board with, but for those of you who can, it’s a great way to add loads of Vitamin C to your diet. You go.

Kale

Kale is a leafy green that I could eat for every meal, and do for many. It goes in my smoothies, in my salads, in soups and stews, on sammies, in falafels; anywhere that I can add it in. It can even be made into chips (sort of). 1 cup of Kale has 80 mg of Vitamin C. Take that, Cauliflower. There are many types of Kale to choose from. Curly kale is best for general cooking, and making chips, for snacking. Red kale is great for smoothies and salads, Tuscan kale is also great for salads and cooking. It’s leaves are less bulky, therefore easier to eat in salads, and it’s higher tannin-like flavor lessens when cooked. Redbor Kale has a gorgeous deep purple color, but eating it raw could bother your stomach, so it’s best, and most delicious simmered for hours, in soups and stews.

Kiwi

One small kiwi contains 64 mg of Vitamin C. Add it to your morning cereal, smoothies, or smoothie bowls, for a great C laden start to your day. Kiwi is also great with various greens and fruity dressing for a light healthy lunch. I also love to serve it in a fruit salad, next to tilapia, or other mild tasting whitefish, for dinner.

Other great Vitamin C filled additions to your diet are citrus fruits, such as oranges, lemons, limes and grapefruit, strawberries, & papaya.

8 Fresh Ideas to Help You Survive Quarantine.

We are all in this together. Isolation isn’t for the faint of heart. There are certain people that are rocking this, and some…

We are all in this together. Isolation isn’t for the faint of heart. There are certain people that are rocking this, and some who are struggling. What some think of as isolation, others think of as down time. Introverts, and ambiverts alike are going to find this much, much easier, than extroverts, who need people in their lives. We all need that face to face time with our friends and loved ones, but some need it more than others. In the mean time, though, we can take a leaf out the book of introverts, and use our quarantine time to better ourselves. Here’s a few ideas to help you get started:

Stay Connected.

Video chatting is the best way to feel as though you’ve actually spent time with the people that you miss. There’s so many ways to do this, from the camera on your phone to Zoom, Facetime, and even all the way back to Skype. Any of these will enable you to chat with people in a face to face manner, that will keep you connected to those who matter. It helps immensely that the schools have gone online, to helps kids and parents stay connected to their school families and friends. Props to all of the teachers who have pulled this together out of thin air. Homeschooling is hard. Fun, but hard. Some are going to love it, and some are going to hate it. The key to excelling at it, is to stay connected, and thankfully that it easy to do with the various apps available today.

Do Something You Suck At.

No, seriously. Revisit something that you have tried and failed at, this time without the idea of mastery in your head. Just shoot for gradual improvement, without judging yourself, along the way. I really, really suck at painting. I wish I didn’t, but I do. I enjoy dabbling with it, anyway, and learning how to improve. Take a course online, if you can afford it, and learn from someone new. This helps you improve your craft, while helping someone working from home make a little extra cash to get through this difficult period. If you cannot afford a class, find a new You-tuber to follow, who will teach you a little bit about your subject, for free. You are still supporting work from homers, while improving your self. Everybody wins.

Drink Less Coffee.

If you are feeling anxious through this quarantine, too much coffee is only going to exacerbate the problem. Try herbal tea instead. You can grow your own herbs, make your own blends, forage for them, whatever. I buy my dried herbs for teamaking through mountainroseherbs.com. Try switching out two cups of coffee a day for herbal teas or green tea. You will come out of this quarantine with a stronger constitution, and super glowy skin.

Grow Something.

With all of this uncertainty surrounding our food supply, right now, it just makes good sense to start taking responsibility for some of your own food. Even if your don’t have tons of space to work with you can still help out your own kitchen by planting some greens and tomatoes in pots, and filling your windowsills with fresh herbs. You can get your supplies delivered through amazon.com and start small, at first. If you have the extra space and funds, start a few flowers as well. As these weeks drag on, a splash color indoors might be just what you need to stay positive through it all.

Smudge Your Home

No, really. Hear me out. I know, you might think it’s woo-woo, but the benefits of smudging your home are proven. Cleansing the air with sage, lavender, palo santo, will improve the feel of your home, ridding the air of negativity, leaving a feeling of well-being in it’s place. If you are feeling stressed out, and anxious, or stuck in a place of unknowing, try smudging your space to help you move forward with a positive mental attitude. (Be prepared for a few 420 jokes from your kids though.) You can make your own smudge sticks with sage, lavender, even pine; or you can purchase them on etsy.com.

This is how we store ours at home:

Why yes, we do think we’re funny. Poor Mr. Antelope.

Order Wine Delivery

You can get $20 off your first box of wine at Winc.com right now. They will tailor your wine choices to your taste preferences, and ship it straight to your door. Who doesn’t need that in these trying times? There are plenty of other wine delivery services and wine clubs to choose from, as well, such as Firstleaf, Martha Stewart Wines and revel.com If you don’t want to risk braving the stores for wine, this is a great option.

Plan a Small Easter Dinner With Your Quarantine Crew.

Everybody’s Easter plans are probably going to look different this year. We usually have dinner with my parents, and my sister’s family if we are in the same city. This year it’s just us. We have a big family, so the food won’t look that different for us. Ham, potatoes, corn, pea salad. and dessert, of course. We will have really small baskets this year, and much of what they get will be made, courtesy of yours truly, not the typical mass of store bought candy. We haven’t done much of that since the boys were small. We usually get experience tickets for the kids. We won’t be doing that right now, so how are we going to make it fun? I have no idea. Egg hunt? Maybe. Decorate a bit? Definitely. We’ll try to keep it festive without being over the top. If you know me, you know that this is my struggle. Wish me luck.

Plan your Post Quarantine Vacation.

When we all bust outta here, we are going to have to go somewhere. At least for a few days. But many of us could be in dire straits, financially speaking. If you can budget in travel, keep it reasonable. Now is not the time to book a 2 week trip to Bora Bora. (Unless you can afford it… Lucky.) A camping trip, somewhere close. A run to the nearest beach. Whatever makes you feel like you had a break. Plan it now. Don’t set dates yet, just everything else. Pick the spot. Figure out how to pay for it.. Plan what to take, wear, etc. As soon as travel is possible book your trip and go. It will give you something to look forward to, and work on, instead of feeling trapped you will feel anticipation, and excitement. It could make a huge difference.

I hope these ideas helped you out, even a little. If you have great ideas to help people through this quarantine, we would love to hear them. Feel free to leave them in the comments or on instagram. Thanks for reading!

Simple,Farm Fresh Anytime Sandwich

This sandwich started with Hubs’ obsession with baking bread, for the freezer. He has been routinely baking three loaves a day. I don’t think one has yet made

This sandwich started with Hubs’ obsession with baking bread, for the freezer. He has been routinely baking three loaves a day. I don’t think one has yet made it into the freezer. With four sons, working from home all day, a lot of food passes through this kitchen in a day. We have been working on spring cleanup in the yard and preparing for spring gardens, starting seed, growing more micro-greens, baking, cooking, and freezing make-ahead quarantine food.

The perfect sandwich begins with the perfect bread. We keep saying we are going to experiment with many different recipes, and I’m sure we will with some, but we just keep coming back to this basic sandwich loaf, because it works. For everything.

This is a simple bread machine loaf. It can be thrown together in about five minutes. This is Hubby’s contribution to the kitchen work around here, and it’s a good one. He has been making a concerted effort to learn a bit more about cooking, so that he can help in that department, and he does. But he loves the bread machine best, because number one: it’s a machine, and number two: he’s a sandwich man. He will put anything on a sandwich and love it. Prime Rib? “Sandwich.” Fried Haddock? “Sandwich.” Leftover Spaghetti? “Honey, are we out of bread??”

We do not share this love. I am more of a salad, smoothie, buddha bowl, mezze platter, antipasto type person, when left to my own devices. But this sandwich has been a daily obsession for me, lately, born out of necessity, and what’s lying around, waiting to be eaten. We want to be outside working, so we like lunch to be around 30 minutes or less. Our chickens have been laying more lately, so we always seem to have eggs just lying around, and we stocked up on turkey bacon when we went to the grocery, as it was the only meat left on the shelf. We don’t eat a ton of meat in this house, but with 5 dudes living here, you know you have to have some available most of the time. In our area, nobody seems to eat turkey bacon, much. That is perfect for us, because it’s the only kind we eat. The only exception being two or three times a year, when I make German potato salad. That needs the real stuff. But that’s a recipe for another day.

Ok, ’nuff backstory. Here’s the easy peasy bread machine recipe for Our Perfect Sandwich Bread:

1 1/3 C. water
1 tbsp yeast
1/3 C. oil
1 tsp. Himalayan pink salt
2 C. white all purpose flour
1 C whole wheat flour

Add water to bread machine pan. Add yeast, then oil. Next, add sugar and salt. Add flour on top and let proof for 6 minutes. Set bread machine to setting 1, and let it do it’s thing. Around 2 hrs and 40 minutes later you should have a great sandwich bread.

If you have been following along, you may have started some micro-greens with us a couple of weeks ago. If so, they should be ready to harvest. I harvested a batch of radish sprouts for this sandwich, and they were delicious.

For the sandwich:

Cut a thick-ish slice of sandwich bread
fry an egg, over easy
fry 2 slices of bacon
slices tomatoes
a handful of sprouts

Grill bread on both sides, then fry up egg, over easy, leaving yolk runny, if you like, fry 2 slices of turkey bacon, add slices of tomato and handful of sprouts, then top with chipotle-lime mayo and chili powder.

For the Chipotle-Lime Mayo:

1/4 cup of mayo/or Miracle Whip
Chipotle Sauce (I like Cholula)
Squeeze of lime
Chili powder

Mix together well, spread on sandwich.

This simple sandwich is great for breakfast, lunch or dinner, whenever the mood strikes. What is your go to simple meal? Are you planning to use simple foods that you are growing/harvesting yourself, during these uncertain times? Help others prepare, by sharing your ideas in the comments, sharing your photos on instagram at canigetaramen.food.blog. We can be found as well, on FB, and Pinterest @ canigetaramen.