11/18/12

Keeping traditions alive

It’s the most wonderful time, of the yearrrrrrrrrr.No seriously. It is. I’m the kind of person that will not TOUCH a single speck of Christmas until turkey is digesting in my belly. I’m all about the food, the togetherness and the lack of presents. It’s a holiday that brings people together before the craziness that December brings and gives you an opportunity to just be with family and friends (and enjoy good food, of course). 😉

I LOVE Thanksgiving!

I knew there would be major milestones to overcome the first year without my mother. I survived Mother’s day, my birthday, my kid brother’s birthday, Halloween and her birthday. I considered all of those events to be practice ones for the major upcoming holidays.

I wasn’t exactly sure how I was going to celebrate and remember my mother over the next couple of months. At one point, I almost told myself I would just skip it all, but I knew that wasn’t the right decision. My mom LOVED the holidays; especially Thanksgiving. She had a tried and true favorite turkey recipe and we would get up in the wee hours of the morning to prep and get the birds in the ovens (yes, we usually made two and filled her double ovens with all that gobble-y goodness. When my grandmother passed away in 2005, we knew we’d keep her spirit bright by continuing to make her delicious sausage and sage stuffing. I knew my mother would not want me to skip Thanksgiving. I know she would want me to cook in her honor. Mr. KKM’s family is cooking this year, so we would be going over there to celebrate with them. I had decided that I would go through the motions and prepare a small bird and a dish of Abuelamom’s stuffing for the two of us and my brother and dad at our house, just as a way of keeping my mom’s favorite recipes alive.

Friday morning I got a phone call from my cousin Glenn telling us that he wanted to get as much family together for a Thanksgiving dinner. He purchased a lake house a while back, making it a great location for any kind of get together. He said that his girlfriend and I could divide the cooking and that anyone else that wants to come could bring a covered dish. I didn’t hesitate. I knew that this was important to him, and that it was his attempt at bringing us all together. My mom was always so good at that, and although I try, I’m nowhere near as good at it. Of course, I told Glenn that I would cook the turkey and stuffing, using those same traditional recipes from Thanksgivings past. Suddenly, I had real Thanksgiving plans.

So today I decided to go do some shopping and figure out what I needed for Thursday. I dropped Mr. KKM off at his brother’s house for a day of football (yes, I’m totally an NFL widow), and swung by the new Whole Foods Carrollwood for a quick jaunt. I saw this friendly face as soon as I walked through the door…

It’s Anna! She has been SO busy these past few weeks with the grand opening of the store, and Thanksgiving orders. She’s been a trooper though, and has done SUCH an awesome job making the new store feel welcoming and a fun place to be! We chatted a while, then she got some customers so I decided to peruse around and see what was on sale. I wasn’t planning on buying a turkey that day, but at $2.09/lb for a free range, antibiotic free turkey, with a $10 off coupon, I couldn’t resist!

I also purchased the ingredients to go with the turkey recipe I mentioned above. My mother was a big Barefoot Contessa fan and swore by her perfect roast turkey recipe. It’s DELICIOUS. Moist, flavorful and amazingly simple to prepare. If you’re looking for a new go-to turkey recipe, you have got to give Ina’s a shot!

Walking around the market collecting all of the Thanksgiving necessities wasn’t easy. In fact, I felt very alone knowing that I was the one that was in charge of making my mom’s turkey this year. She wouldn’t be around to clean it and prep it. We wouldn’t be going to the local party store to but pans and supplies. She wouldn’t be up basting it. We wouldn’t have Cuban coffee and crackers in the morning while we watched it brown. I felt very overwhelmed with the whole thing as it would be the first time doing this all on my own. However, I know my mom would be in my own kitchen with me in spirit.

I have so much to be thankful for this year. I have 32 years of memories of my mother. I have the most amazing boyfriend who loves me for me. I have a great network of family, friends, bloggers and co-workers who are supportive and positive influences in my life. I have a job that I look forward to doing each and every day. I have a beautiful home that I share with the man I love (and a pup and two cats) and I have my health. I’m strong, and working on becoming stronger. Although I miss my mom terribly, I can’t forget and overlook all the good that is going on in my life, and if she can see me, I know that she would be thankful for that.

What family Thanksgiving traditions do you hold dear to your heart?

10/15/12

Sentimental value

I get giddy over cookbooks.

Especially old ones.

See that shelf behind me? It’s completely filled to the top with treasures. Many of which my mom gave to me, which are now the most priceless possessions, aside from pictures, that I own.

My mom would love to give me cookbooks for any reason.

She’d always write a little message on the inside with the date and sometimes even the holiday when the book was given.

Sometimes I sit in my kitchen looking through all of these books, touching the ink, knowing my mom’s fingerprints are there.

These cookbooks tell a story. They’re books that I can pass on to my children, to hopefully spark their own love for cooking, and to hold a piece of the grandmother they never got to meet.

The last cookbook my mom gave me was the Meatball cookbook I’m holding in the first picture above. It was a Christmas present that she ordered, signed by the authors, and of course, by her.

This was our last Christmas together, and I’m so glad I have this to remember it by.

My mom was the one who inspired me to begin building my own cookbook collection. Although I have many that I buy new, my favorite books are the ones with writing in them. You’ll typically find me perusing through piles and boxes of old cookbooks at garage sales or flea markets, looking for books like this

I always wonder how people can part with something so sentimental. I always wonder how these end up in dusty flea market dollar crates.

I found this one a few years ago at Webster flea market. This tugs at my heart strings.

When my grandmother died, we cleaned out her house and although we couldn’t keep everything, I made sure to hold on to her recipes and cookbooks, as my grandmother loved to jot down notes and hide newspaper clippings and recipe snippets in the nooks and crannies of each book.

Mr. KKM’s grandmother sent me this last year when she found out about my love of cookbooks and sentimental messages

Although I’ve never met her, I feel like a little piece of her is here in our home with this gift.

Before you toss your old cookbooks out, let me know. Those scribble-filled, falling apart, fringed books might be trash to you, but they’re my cupboard’s treasures.

What do you treasure?
Steph 🙂

09/23/12

Healthy eating on a budget

The #1 question I get from blog readers is

“How do you grocery shop and cook healthy meals on a budget?”

It’s honestly a question I asked myself at the beginning of my own wellness journey. Mostly because I originally fixated on “organic” eating as my only option. Now don’t get me wrong, I try to eat organically, but it’s not always feasible when working with a weekly grocery budget. Organic foods can be more expensive, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to find ways to fit in fresh and healthy meal options into your life.

For years I’ve been shopping at my local farmer’s markets, like Parkesdale Farm, for my produce. Today I made a trip out there with Mr. KKM’s mom and Monica. I spent exactly $9.45 and got all of this:
For less than $10 and I got 2 HUGE avocados, 3 red plums, 3 HUGE sweet potatoes, 4 tomatoes, 8 limes, a bunch of cilantro, a Spanish onion and 2 baking potatoes. That, my friends, is what you call a DEAL. If you don’t have a farmer’s market near by, consider joining a co-op! You’ll have fresh produce delivered to your door every month (or even every week in some cases). Look for a co-op in your neighborhood here.

As for everything else, I’ve never been a “loyal” grocery chain shopper. Here in Florida Publix is one of our biggest chain grocers, and although I do love shopping there (it is a pleasure, after all), it’s not always kind to my wallet. I typically do my shopping on Saturday mornings and will browse the ads to see who’s got the best deals. I’m totally ok with store brands, so couponing has never been my priority as I think many times you can save more money by going generic on most items, receiving equal quality and taste. Now, in a moment, I may lose brand-loyal readers, but I want to introduce you to a little store called Aldi.

Ever heard of Trader Joe’s? (oh, I bet I just got a few swoons and oooo’s and ahhh’s). Well Aldi is their discount chain and parent company. (Yes, it’s true!). When Tampa first got an Aldi, I decided to check it out. I had heard about it’s popularity over in Europe, so I figured I would see what all of the trans-Atlantic hype was about.

I have been HOOKED on Aldi ever since. Calling it a “discount” store is like putting it in the same category as Save-a-Lot or Dollar General, and that should be a crime. Aldi is in a different league all on it’s own.

With impeccably clean stores, specialty items and some of the freshest produce around, there is no doubt that Aldi is in the same family as the infamous Trader Joe’s.

I did my grocery shopping there yesterday, and wanted to share with you what I found. If you’re living on a budget (like me), then you should check out Aldi for all of your healthy meal planning needs. Let’s take a look at what I bought:

Let’s crunch some numbers:

1 gallon skim milk $3.19
ground turkey $1.69 x2= $3.38
black beans $0.59 x2=$1.18
pork tenderloin (1lb) $5.99
shredded part skim cheese $2.79
pecan halves (6oz) $3.99
chicken broth $1.49
baby carrots $0.59
parsley flakes $0.99
basil leaves $0.99
steak seasoning $0.99
diced tomatoes $0.59 x2= $1.18
dozen large eggs $1.39
turkey bacon $1.39
brown rice $1.29
tilapia filets $5.99
sweet potato chips $0.99
total= $37.80

Combine that with my farmer’s market buys and you have a grand total of $47.25!
That’s under $50 for tons of staples that can lead to amazing meals!

In addition to the above goodies, you’ll find things like:

Eating healthy doesn’t have to break your piggy bank. Give Aldi a chance and see what you think!

Do you have any favorite low-cost healthy recipes?
-Steph

08/8/12

A hateful post

I’m watching an episode of Paula Dean right now, and she’s making an orzo salad.

In the beginning, it looked pretty darn yummy. Lots of veggies, Asian seasonings, slivered almonds, chicken breast. Something I could definitely get on board with. Until she added the water chestnuts.

Oh good lawdy water chestnuts. Disgusting!

As much as I preach about my distaste for picky eaters (yet I’m in love with one!), there are some foods on my own personal picky list that turn my stomach. I, for the most part, will try almost anything before declaring official hatred, with the exception of things like insects, or the like. I’m sure little critters have their place in the culinary world, but I won’t be chomping down on chocolate covered grasshoppers anytime soon. All buggin’ aside, here’s my current foodie “hate” list, in no particular order:

10. Water Chestnuts. Yup, the above mentioned corm, or plant stem, is not for me. Although the flavor is pretty mild, I cannot get passed the texture. Please don’t ruin spinach dips with these waxy little plastic tasting discs. Thanks.

9. Corned beef hash. The closest thing to human dog food in my book.

8. Canned soup. I’m not a big fan of soups in general, but canned soups make me want to hurl. Sorry Campbells!

7. Whole milk. Skim, all the way. Maybe 1%, but any more than that is pushing it!

6. Head cheese. I have literally been in line at the Publix deli with some sick bastard ordering this horrible concoction ahead of me and I made the person waiting on me use a different machine for my meat as to not taint it with the nastiness that is head cheese.

5. Cottage cheese. I’ll use it in recipes, but will never voluntarily sit down and eat a bowl of this lumpy white “stuff”. Even with fruit or some other topping. Ick!

4. Pearl onions. Especially jarred. I love onions, but the eyeball-y texture of these little spheres of doom just put me over the edge.

3. Organ meats. My grandparents would speak of the Great Depression and how organ meats (think liver and brain!) would be staples in their households. No, no, no!

2. Star anise. This Cuban cure for stomachaches would give me stomachaches. To this day the smell can cause dangerous levels of Stephnausea (yes, that’s a real word).

1. Brussel sprouts. I attended a private, very strict school for the first three years of my education. One day for lunch brussel sprouts were served. I took one bite of these nasty little smelly green brain shaped balls and spit it out with disgust. I missed recess that day because lunch rules said all children had to clean their plates. Screw that. And don’t tell me how delish they are roasted. Thanks, but no thanks!

So spill it. What’s on your foodie hate list?