Recipes

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!

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.

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.

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.

Am I the only one semi- freaking over Covid-19?

I know that the first thing we are told about this current coronavirus is not to panic. And I’m not… exactly. I am trying to prepare though. Just in case. I might have mentioned before that I have acquired a small case of germaphobia, while living in the Orlando, FL area. Being someone who grew up with tons of breathing room, pretty much a a free range kid, all of the people crammed together in tight, tight spaces eventually got to me. We have moved to rural Pennsylvania though now, so I have been slowly getting back to good. Until now. I am not in a full case on of freak out mode, but I am feeling perpetually uneasy, and probably will until I feel completely prepared to deal with this. I have been avoiding the news, for the most part, and trying to implement common sense solutions. While we were living in the city, we lived by all of the homesteading principles that we possibly could. We made our own lye soap. (Still do.)

We grew citrus and herbs on the patio, along with greens and tomatoes. (Here we can do that in the summer, of course.) We grew sprouts and micro-greens. (We are working on it, here.) We lived on the fully raw diet for years. (We still do raw food detoxes a few times a year for the health benefits.) We shopped at Whole Foods (I so miss you) and lived as green as possible for our circumstances. We home-schooled our kids. (Still do.) So, basically we lived by all the trendy homesteading principles, at the time. Now we live out…way out. The nearest Whole Foods is a 2.5 hr drive, We haven’t really met anyone like us here yet, and we are realizing how much easier it is to grow things in Florida, as compared to here. We really miss our life there…but we are making the best of it here. When we decided to move here, we were very clear on thinking that we wanted to homestead. We had pictures in our heads of wholesome family life, working in the sun, lush harvests, trendy farmers markets.

In Florida these things are fun. There’s tons of farmer’s markets, loads of interesting people with interesting ideas. You are always learning something new; every kind of exotic fruit and vegetable is available at the markets, and you can grow anything at home on your patio, or in your backyard.

The sun is always shining, so you don’t ever feel depressed, and your motivation is always at maximum because you are really happy. Here? Well…let’s just say it’s different. There you pay others to do all the work for you, to the point that you are bored to death if you are not at the beach or theme parks. Here it seems like the work never ends. And we have barely begun.

We had pretty big plans when we moved here, (we usually do) but we had a house to fix, land to prepare, business ideas we wanted to grow, kids to finish raising plus educating, and Hubs works two hours away, 50+ hrs a week…we’ve been fairly busy. Needless to say we haven’t achieved optimal food storage for six people, or gotten our gardens fully planned, even, let alone flourishing, and now there’s a possible crisis afoot, and I am so. not. ready. What to do? I’m sure I’m not alone in this place, so I’ll tell you how I’ve spent this weekend preparing, and maybe give you some ideas to help you get your kitchen stocked up a bit, as well.

Here’s what I’ve bought so far:

Dry Goods:

Rice
Dry Beans: Pinto, Black Beans, Chick Peas, Black Eyed Peas Great Northern Beans
Boxes of Pasta: Thin Spaghetti, Rotini, Fettucine, Macaroni
Rice Noodles
Flour (loads)
Yeast
Oats
Cake Mixes
Baking Powder
Baking Soda
Corn Starch
Corn Meal

Canned Goods:

Canned Pasta Sauce (like Hunts)
Evaporated Milk
Canned Pumpkin
Canned Fruit Pineapple, Peaches, Applesauce
Canned Pie Filling
Canned Corn, Peas, Beans
Canned Tomatoes

Frozens:

Bulk Frozen Strawberries
Frozen Mango
Frozen Broccoli
Frozen Corn
Frozen Peas
Frozen Brussel Sprouts
Chicken Breast
Turkey Bacon
Breakfast Sausage
Pork Loin
Imitation Crabmeat

Dairy:

Milk (one for fridge, the rest for the chest freezer)
Bulk Shredded Mozzarella, and Shredded Cheddar
Bulk Cream Cheese
Ice Cream
Cool Whip
Butter
Sour Cream (can be frozen, but will change the texture)
Eggs (not dairy, but we did stock up, for use, until the warmer weather when the chickens start laying more)

Medications:

Cold & Flu Remedies (for adults and kiddos)
Immune Support Tablets
Vicks Vapor Rub
Motrin
Tylenol
Cough Drops
Fire Cider

Spices & Herbs & Other cooking Essentials:

Bulk Oils
Vinegars
Garlic
Onions
Shallots
Leeks
Ginger
Turmeric
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Rosemary
Cumin
Chili Powder
Cinnamon

Drinks:

Coffee
Green Tea
Black Tea
Ginger Tea
Water
Coconut Milk
Gatorade
Milk

There’s so much more to be done, and as long as we have time, we will continue to add to our stockpile, but if a pandemic does strike, we have food enough for a couple of months at least, albeit, we might be living on rice and beans. Luckily, I have a fair amount of recipes for those as well.

So tell me, are you planning on preparing for a possible crisis with this coronavirus, if so, what are you stockpiling? Let me know in the comments. We can also be found on social media. FB@ canigetaramen.food.blog, and insta & pinterest@canigetaramen.

Well,Butter My Biscuits and Call me… for Hot Dogs?

I can’t believe that I’m promoting a hot dog on this blog. (Of course, that means there’s a story coming…)

I can’t believe that I’m promoting a hot dog on this blog. (Of course, that means there’s a story coming…) I’ve been struggling to name this weird little hot dog/hoagie/hero thing. Whale of a dog? Umm. No. (No whales were used in the making of this sandwich.) The Seafarer? I’m sure it’s been done. I asked the kids…the Scurvy Dog?? Eww. And the Hubs contribution and my personal favorite: Sahlen for Seafood;) All fails. It might be nameless, but if you have to eat a hot dog, this is the one to choose.

So, short story…yesterday was my son’s birthday. You know how I feel about birthdays buuut Mr. Low Key wasn’t feeling it. He was in a great mood, but didn’t want to be fussed over. At all. Bummer. But he was going to be here for dinner, so I asked him what he wanted. Yup. You guessed it. Hot dogs. Gross. But it’s his birthday, so he gets what he wants. Out of 21 birthdays, I’m going to guess that he has chosen hot dogs for about 17 of them. So, I had a feeling this was coming.

A droll little anecdote… Picture this. You are sitting in morning program at the local public school. All the kiddos are being asked what they want to be when they grew up. All the parents are fondly smiling, as little Timmy clearly states that he’s going to be a professor, and little Tamika’s going to be an astronaut, and this one’s going to be a doctor, and she’s already accepted to Harvard Law. But wait. “Oh, you, little tyke, with the blonde hair over there…what do you want to be when you grow up?” A NYC hot dog vendor. Yep. Mine. That one’s mine.

He’s had an affinity for hot dog type foods since he was old enough to chew, and my father-in-law would sneak him Vienna sausages when I wasn’t looking. (Gag.) Thank God he outgrew his taste for those nasty little things, but he still loves an occasional hot dog. But, not just any hot dog, mind you. It’s got to be Sahlen’s. For those of you who haven’t heard of Sahlen’s, they are a Buffalo, NY treasure, if you can call a hot dog a treasure. The only one worth eating though, in my opinion, and the only one allowed in my house, if there’s has to be a hot dog in my house, at all. So we, obviously, went with that. As you know, on birthdays, I must fuss, but I also must respect his wishes if he says he doesn’t want me to. Dilemma. My solution was to make the hot dog a big deal, instead of the birthday. That’s a little weird. I just realized.

I say again, if I’m forced to eat a hot dog, it must be an epic hot dog. I didn’t want just any roll, so I looked and looked for something to strike my fancy, but nothing did. Then, as we were perusing the seafood aisle, I remembered the Cheddar Bay biscuit mix that the boys had leftover at home, so in a snap decision, choosing to pair it with pre-made seafood salad, and a shot of cocktail sauce, this Whale of a Seafarer, Sahlen for Seafood, Not Scurvy Dog was born. If you are a hot dog purist, this is not the dog for you. If you are a brave soul, the adventurous type, the captain of your own ship, here’s what you’re gonna need:

2 packets of Cheddar Bay Biscuit Mix
Paprika
Pre-Made Seafood Salad (or you can make your own)
Sahlen’s Hot Dogs
Cocktail Sauce

First you are going to make the biscuit mix into hot dog rolls. This is simple and fun. Mix water and cheddar cheese into 2 packets of mix, stir, and spoon onto a baking tray in a roll shape, and smooth the tops down, with a tiny bit of water. This could get a bit messy. Bake in 425 degree oven for about 10-12 minutes.

Grill Sahlen’s to preferred doneness. For me, that’s pretty much burnt. (Is burnt a word?)

When both are ready, fill Cheddar Bay Buns (that’s fun to say) with dogs and top with a heaping spoonful of seafood salad, sprinkle with paprika, and add cocktail sauce on the side. Yes, I know that seems like an odd combination, but it works! (If you are not a fan of hot dogs, like myself, cut it in half lengthwise and fill it mostly with seafood salad.) Take a giant bite and enjoy this strangely delicious nor’eastern experiment.

I’ve got it! The neptune. It shall forever be known as the King Neptune dog. No, maybe the Kraken. Yeah, that’s it. Now I am going to go make myself a detox smoothie, try to forget this monstrosity ever existed, and pray, to never again, have to type the words “hot” and “dog” together, in conjunction with this blog.

Have you tried Sahlen’s hot dogs? Do you think you can top this nautical dog? If you have different/better ideas, please share in the comments, or on insta@canigetaramen. Follow us on FB and pinterest @ canigetaramen.food.blog.

Self Care Motivation. Find It and Keep It.

I sometimes get questions from people, who are struggling, asking me how I find the motivation. For the bigger things such as eating well, as a rule, or sticking to a fitness routine; but also

I sometimes get questions from people, who are struggling, asking me how I find the motivation. For the bigger things such as eating well, as a rule, or sticking to a fitness routine; but also the little things, like throwing on makeup, and getting out of my yoga pants. 😉 This always surprises me a little because I don’t think of myself as someone who always has their stuff together. (I spend my fair share of time in yoga pants.) I think of myself as someone who is always striving to get my stuff together. The reason I do these things daily is because I enjoy them. They make me feel like I have my stuff together.

If I wake up, have coffee, work out, and start my day with a healthy meal choice, I feel like I’ve already won today. The rest of the day breezes by. That’s not to say that there aren’t any struggles, but I feel prepared to handle those struggles. If I wake up, have coffee, rush out the door without my self care routine, my whole day is a disaster. That sounds melodramatic, but it’s actually not. Everything in my day will be a little bit off, and I will struggle throughout the entire day. The reason for that is, my self care routine grounds me. I find strength in it. It’s routine. It’s necessary. It’s what taking decent care of myself means to me. Taking an hour in the morning to get myself together.

I remember when my kids were all under 10, and in public school, that feeling of the sky falling, if I dropped the ball, on anything. It’s no joke. It will land on the mother. That’s why mothers are so intent on doing everything perfectly. You know it will land on you. It does. Kid makes a mistake? It lands on you. Spouse makes a mistake? It lands on you. I can go on and on about the injustice of this, and I do, but it hasn’t changed anything yet. It’s no wonder we never feel like we can take a minute for ourselves. We already know who’s going to pay for it. But it’s OK.

People are going to judge you no matter what you do. Nobody can be perfect all of the time. You will make mistakes. People will make comments. Mothers are now stretched so thin, that they can’t possibly meet all the demands on them, without occasionally making a mistake. But you still have to make time for yourself. I don’t, necessarily, mean days at the spa, or 12 hr. shopping sprees, these things are fun, and occasionally necessary, but they are not going to help you achieve a daily self care routine that helps you shape your best self, over time. For me, it’s more about checking in with myself every morning, making sure I’m eating well, moving often, setting goals, attaining a level of personal and career growth that I am happy with, while taking care of my family, to the best of my ability.

If I take my top priorities and break them down here I’ll end up with these five, in this order :

Family/Relationships
Career/Education
Health
Financial Health
Home (organization & cleaning routines)

But when I schedule my day it looks more like this:

Wake up & Caffeinate.
Morning Workout.
Breakfast Smoothie.
Make daily work lists, school agendas, schedules, goals, charts.
Manage household accounts, (lists, schedules, meal plans.)
Get ready for day (shower, brush teeth, hair,makeup, etc)
Make healthy breakfast for kiddos.
Start their schoolwork. (ex. book work, writing projects, art projects, stem etc.)
Complete my own work. (ex. soaping, writing, designing labels, building blogs, etc.)
Break for healthy lunch.
Clean up from lunch.
Finish afternoon work. (Both, kids & I.) Sometimes we take this on the road, through tech, because we have errands and appointments.
Cleanup from school.
Get some time outside.
Start dinner.
Dinner time.
Clean up from dinner.
Put house to rights for next day.
Try to get some more work done.
Get ready for next day. (check for appts. organize papers, make lists., charge devices, plan meals, etc.)

I need to fit each priority in the space that makes the most sense with my scheduled day. If I don’t get my workout in directly after coffee, it’s just not going to happen because my day gets hectic as soon as the small one’s feet hit the floor. I need to fuel up on a quick, high energy breakfast (why I choose smoothies) immediately after or I’m probably not going to get breakfast at all. Next, I take a minute and start planning my day. I usually do this standing up, guzzling a bit more coffee, while I work. I quickly jot down all of the necessary tasks to accomplish first so I have a master list, of sorts. If I get through that before anyone wakes up, then I break the tasks down further, into a more detailed list, that I can check against, throughout the day. Once everyone is up, clean, and fed, we all get to our respective jobs, and work independently until lunch, with the kids, taking occasional direction from me. After lunch we clean up quickly, regroup, and finish up our work. Once the schoolwork/my work is done for the day, I try to send everybody off for at least a half hour so I can just breeeathe, for a minute, and maybe grab a cup of green tea ( or more coffee).

Then it’s time to clean up our papers, notebooks, supplies, laptops etc, put them away, ideally, until the next day, and prepare for dinner. This is usually a much bigger ordeal than it has to be, because I love to teach the boys how to prepare different healthy meals, and they will often join in, which is really fun, but also messy. So, of course I could do it much faster, not to mention neater, alone, but where’s the fun in that? After dinner, we do another quick clean through, and set up for the next day. By this time, everyone is so sick of looking at each other 😉 that we all go find something quiet to do. Alone. Books, video games, writing. This is where I may try to get a little more work in. If I’m just completely over working for the day, I may do some drawing, painting, reading, or just stretching, to decompress, which I also consider part of a great self care routine.

Self care is going to look different to you, depending on what your priorities are. Only you can decide what takes the top five spots in your life. The only way to find time for the important things is to let go of the things that are not so important. When you have decided which things are most important, create a schedule that allows you to incorporate them into your life daily. Feel free to start small, adding in one thing at a time each month until your are giving your full attention to the things that matter most to you. Before you know it, you will be living your best life, full of authenticity and self-motivation.

What tips do you have for staying motivated every day? Feel free to leave them in the comments. I can be found on insta@canigetaramen, & on pinterest and FB @ canigetaramen.food.blog. Thanks for reading!