10 Things I Miss from the U.S.A.

Summer 2012: We set up a lemonade stand and yard sale in the blazing heat.

Our impossibly difficult summer move from Nebraska to Canada was not a triumphant experience.   Yet we slogged through the shedding, packing, and painting and made it north somehow.  We are resolved to never again allow the forces of chaos overwhelm us to such an extent.  By necessity, much of the extra clutter we I had amassed and stuffed in closets is gone from our lives, and I am glad.

Such a complicated summertime transition has meant less time for other pursuits, like kitchen experiments, crafts, and social media.  Hopefully as we settle in we can have space to breathe and live at a sustainable pace.

As we adjust to life in a small college town on the prairie, I am missing some of the blessings we had to leave behind, such as:

1. Extended family being a day's drive away

2. The friends we made in Nebraska

3. Delving deep into the Bible with other women at BSF

4. Lower cost of living

5. Eligibility for recipe contests

6. Nebraska farmers markets

7. Bike paths and the various wild foraging opportunities we had along them

8. Grocery stores in our neighborhood

9. Owning a house

10. Relatively mild winters (I've heard former Canadians talk of "summer coats" up here!)

That being said, we are happy about the Canadian approach to health care and education.  I am looking forward to finding a solid church this fall and going berry picking eventually.   Very soon I intend to connect with one of the local "mom and tots" groups.

After living in Vietnam, Chicago, and Nebraska as a growing family, we get to adjust once more to living in this semi-foreign part of the world known as Saskatchewan.  We've enjoyed a very warm welcome here; now it is time to expand and deepen the connections that have begun.

Saskatoon berry tart from a local bakery

Visiting a Family Farm in Rural Nebraska

Going to the source of our food is something I love to do with my kids.  We are blessed to live in a town with an abundance of farmers markets; there we can meet hardworking folks who produce food for our table.  One farming family we've gotten to know sells natural meats, with an emphasis on lamb.  We've ordered half a lamb in autumns past, but we love to eat lamb so much that we ordered a whole lamb this year.

Although we've been wanting to see the farm where our lamb comes from, its location, two hours away from the city where we live, made it hard to get there.  Yet providentially, we were going to be passing near the farm on our way back home from Kansas City this week.    So we called up, got directions, and found ourselves tooling along a dusty gravel road until we reached the farmhouse and neighboring store.  Here is the store:

It's an old country schoolhouse that's been moved and renovated by the owners of the farm.  I found out during our visit that the farmer's grandmother had attended this one-room schoohouse back in her day.

Kittens galore!

A few minutes after we arrived, we were met by a couple of the children.  They were clad in rubber work boots and chatted with us until their father made it up the hill.   The two of them carried our meat out to our minivan and then showed us around the farmyard.

A working pitchfork

My children enjoyed feeding the pet lambs.  The main flock was out in the pasture.

Geese and several other kinds of birds scooted away from us as we approached.

Teaching our children the importance of a good work ethic has been a big focus and challenge in our home lately. While they enjoyed the animals, I think it was even more valuable for them to see kids who were busy with lots of daily chore responsibilities.

We also want our children to understand and appreciate that what we eat takes a quite a bit of work to produce.  It is not just a matter of plopping items into a grocery cart!

While we can't afford to buy the best of everything, certain items, like ethical meats, I believe are worth the extra cost.  Furthermore, getting to see where our food comes from gives us both an education and greater peace of mind as we navigate the many choices involved in raising a family.

Our First Nebraska Apple Orchard Trip

The long-awaited opportunity came this week.   My son's preschool class had a field trip to a local apple orchard.  My daughters enjoyed their orchard visits when they were in preschool as well. However, I had other youngsters at home then, so I was not free to go--until now.

My son was thrilled to ride the bus that he had heard so much about from his sisters.  Can you tell?

We selected a couple of apples to take home.

Stopping to pick and eat raspberries was delightful.

Each child also got to pick out a pumpkin.

And hay bales kept kids busy until lunch.

In all, we had a wonderful morning together.  I was so glad to finally get the chance to experience the orchard with one of my children.  And I brought home some fresh, cold apple cider to share with the whole family.  A truly blissful day it was.

What field trips from your childhood do you recall with fondness?

This is linked to Try New Adventures Thursday, hosted by Alicia.

Elderberry Applesauce: An Experiment

Elderberries in September

In Search of Elderberries

In March of this year, our family was hit hard with the flu.  Wanting to strengthen our immune systems naturally, I thought of trying the elderberry-based herbal remedy, Sambucol.  While I didn't find any at the pharmacy we frequent, the thought of finding and making my own elderberry extract remained appealing.

Picking Elderberries

In late summer, I spotted a bush with dark purple berries.  I suspected they were elderberries, but wanted to be quite sure, so as to avoid a life-threatening mistake.  I finally gained enough confidence last week to pick some berries, using the information I found to distinguish edible elderberries from a similar lookalike plant that is highly toxic.

Making Elderberry Applesauce

I decided to sweeten the elderberries with apples.  So I peeled, cored, and cut up half a dozen apples, added some lemon juice, and tossed in what elderberries I had, which was about a handful.  After letting the mixture simmer in the slow cooker on low overnight, I realized I needed to add water and more sweetener.  I shook in some cinnamon as well, both for flavor and for its additional immune-boosting properties.  Here is a list of all the ingredients used to make the elderberry applesauce:

• Apple slices
• Elderberries
• Lemon juice
• Maple syrup
• Water
• Cinnamon

Results and Resolutions

I certainly plan to make elderberry applesauce again--next year, since this was the end of the season.  Next time I intend to pick the elderberries when they are juicier, rather than overripe. Also, I will not simmer the applesauce overnight, but rather keep an eye on the process, add more water, and stir it every once in a while so that the fruit cooks evenly.  Also, I might try straining out the elderberry seeds.  Nevertheless, I was happy with my first results, and hope that elderberries can help us stay healthier this fall and winter.

This week I'm linking to AP Tuesday, Try New Adventures and Pennywise Platter Thursday.

Going Local at Tastee Inn & Out

 

Update: If you live locally, you can grab a Groupon deal for Tastee Inn today! 

For the first year or so we lived in our neighborhood, I would pass by an old 50's-era drive-in restaurant with it's vintage sign unlit.  The chipping paint seemed to indicate that the place had closed down years ago.  But this was not so, a friend informed me.  My foodie curiosity was piqued.  Was this apparent dive actually a hidden local gem?  I decided to be adventurous and find out. 

It's not your average chain restaurant decor...

If you like onion rings, try the onion chips with creamy dip.

A Tastee sandwich is made from loose ground beef and comes with mustard and a pickle.

The "tastee" sandwiches we sampled were indeed unique.  I would call them one-of-a-kind even.  The sandwiches (but not the hot dogs) are clearly the reason this no frills establishment has stayed in business.  I am already plotting when I might return for another taste.

Disclosure: This review was written before I knew about the Groupon deal today.  All opinions are my own.  This post contains referral links for Groupon.  I will receive compensation if you purchase a Groupon through the links above. 

A Sloppy Joe Recipe for Omnivores: Pita with Lentils and Local Beef

This week I discovered a lentil sloppy joe recipe; it inspired me to combine leftover meat loaf with the lentils to create my own version for lunch.  Our sloppy joes turned out well, and thus I am happy to share the resulting recipe.

What delights me about the lentil-beef combination is that I can use less meat and still enjoy the great taste of our favorite sloppy joe recipe. Perhaps some day we'll try the full vegetarian version.   At this point, however, I remain a vegetarian wannabe who still eats meat, in part because I defer to the preferences of my husband and children.

In January I decided that I could not, in good conscience, buy cheap feedlot beef any longer. Driving past a blackened feedlot crowded with cattle was the disturbing impetus for this decision.  So we have been enjoying our freezer full of venison cuts as our primary source of red meat for many months.

My oldest daughter really misses eating meatloaf and sloppy joes, however. These two favorite dishes just don't taste the same when we substitute ground venison for beef.  After gulping at the price of grass fed ground beef in the health food stores, I resolved to find ethical meat at the farmer's market when it opened this month.

Success! We bought four pounds of local ground beef for $3.99 a pound last weekend. After our long beef hiatus, we thoroughly savored homemade meatloaf for dinner on Saturday.  And now we have another way to enjoy the meat in sloppy joe form later.

Lentil and Beef Sloppy Joe Recipe

Ingredients:
1 cup lentils
6 to 8 oz. ground beef, cooked and browned
Chopped onions, sauteed in oil
Pita pocket bread
Cabbage, optional
1/2 cup to 1 cup tomato ketchup
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
Mayonnaise, optional
Salt to taste


Directions:

1. Cook 1 cup lentils in 2 cups water for about 30 minutes or until tender and liquid is mostly absorbed.  
2. Add ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, and vinegar and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.  
3. Next, add ground beef and onions (or crumbled leftover meatloaf) and simmer for 5 minutes or until flavors have blended.  Add salt and additional ketchup, worchestershire sauce, or vinegar to taste.
4. Cut pita circles in half and spread a layer of mayonnaise.  Fill with one layer or torn or shredded fresh cabbage (optional). Then add lentil and beef sloppy joe filling.  
5. Serve and enjoy the tangy goodness with a smile.  Makes about 6 sandwiches.

Wondering what to put inside the rest of the pita bread?  Check several other ideas in this slideshow.  For other nourishing recipes that you can afford to make, head over to Pennywise Platter Thursday at The Nourishing Gourmet.   Friday Food and Food on Friday have even more recipes to explore.

Recipe for Tofu and Cabbage Soup

After living in China for two years, my general dislike of tofu was vanquished. I now think it is delicious fried or frozen. The simple soup below was easy to come by in the frigid Northeast region of China, where cabbage used to be one of the only vegetables available during the long winter months. Freezing the tofu gives it a more substantial texture, which I greatly prefer over soft tofu.

My recipe, which requires only 4 ingredients besides water and salt, originally appeared as one of two tofu recipes in this piece.


Simple Tofu and Cabbage Soup Recipe

Ingredients:

3-4 cups water

2 vegetable or chicken boullion cubes

5-6 Napa cabbage leaves (or more), cut/torn into several pieces

10-12 oz. frozen firm tofu, thawed and cubed

1-2 sliced mushrooms (button or shitake), optional

salt to taste

Directions:

1. Freeze tofu ahead of time and let thaw.

2. In a deep saucepan, bring water to boiling and add boullion cubes to make broth.

3. Next add cubes of tofu, cabbage, and sliced mushroom. Turn heat down and simmer until cabbage is wilted. Add salt to taste.

Notes:

• You can also add a cooked shrimp to each bowl, as demonstrated in this cabbage soup recipe on YouTube.

• This soup can also be made in your slow cooker. For more slow cooking ideas, head to Crock Pot Wednesdays. I've also submitted this post to Tammy's In-Season Recipe Swap.

Tastes of Oklahoma City: Grandy's Sinnamon Rolls and More

I grew up believing that my Oklahoma roots didn’t run that deep, since all of my extended family lived far to the north or west of us. But like other places I’ve lived and grown to love (Chicago, China, and Vietnam), the people and the food I left behind are what I miss the most.

This summer I had a chance to return to Oklahoma and visit my parents, sister, and friends there. I was also eager to get some of my favorite foods that are not available in Nebraska, where I live now. I not only enjoyed the morsels myself, I had fun introducing my children to some of the local treats of Oklahoma City. They may not remember the blur of friends and kids they encountered, but they are still talking about the new places they saw and the donuts and cinnamon rolls we tasted on our trip.




It is widely known that Oklahoma City is not a particularly healthy city when it comes to food and how much people eat. But because going out to eat is both commonplace and a beloved pastime, there are some tremendously tasty treats to be had. So to justify our donut indulgence, we opted to walk to the donut shop instead of drive. Very un-American I know.

After getting our donuts in pretty white bags, we strolled to a nearby park bench to dig in to our raised glazed wonders. My three kids promptly burned off some of those calories on the swings, teeter tooter and jungle gym. My two-year-old son learned a new favorite phrase that day: "donut shop."


Featured Review:
Grandy’s Sinnamon Roll

This is my new afternoon snack craving. I remembered these were wonderful, but the sweet cinnamony perfection was something that had not crossed my lips in a long time. I can recall only one instance in recent years that equaled this delight--pillowy soft cinnamon rolls made by my sister-in-law, Sarah.

You can find reviews of four of my local favorites--Grandy’s, Daylight Donuts, City Bites, and Braum’s--in the article Best Bites Around Oklahoma City: Where to Find Delicious Local Foods Under $5.