Decisions, decisions

I finally, after considering my alternatives for nearly a year, made the tough decision to leave my employment and move to Arizona. This decision was especially difficult considering I have been employed with the state of Utah for nearly 23 years, and leaving means no paycheck, no retirement, no insurance. And that's just a small part of what needed (and still needs) consideration.

My mother's mental health has been declining for years. She is at a point where she has difficulty remembering how to do the simplest things. The move will allow me be closer to two of my siblings and many nieces and nephews, who, I anticipate, will help me from time to time with my mom.

Over the next six weeks, I will need to dejunk my house and determine what I need to take with me and what can be sold, given away, or thrown out. An intense cleaning of the house will begin ASAP, and it will be put on the market this week. Hopefully it will sell quickly.

Another decision I made, not quite as difficult as the move, was what to do with the Orca Bay layout. I took a recommendation from I can't remember who (thanks quiltvillechat ladies for all your input!) that I needed a larger layout than just a few blocks to get the real picture of what might look the best. While the dark blocks looked great on a small scale, I couldn't see the design when they were laid out large-scale. So, I'm keeping the light & dark star blocks in the quilt. And, I'm going with the light stars where Bonnie put the dark ones. The top is half-way sewn. I hope to finish this week before I'm in the thick of house-cleaning. A picture of the finished top will be posted soon!

Since one of my goals before the move is to use as much food storage as I can, so I'll have less to move, I'm going to provide some recipes for using those items.

Blender Wheat Pancakes or Waffles:

In your blender, combine 1 cup wheat with 1 cup milk. Blend until a batter forms (about 5 minutes - batter will be thick). Add in 2 tsp. baking powder, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 Tb. honey or sugar, 1 Tb. oil, and 1 egg. Blend until mixed, adding a little more milk if batter is thicker than you like it. Heat griddle or waffle iron. Cook as any other pancake or waffle recipe.


Homemade Syrup:

I really like making berry syrup, but if you don't have the berries, just make maple syrup.

1 cup light corn syrup
2 cups sugar
1 cup water
1-2 cups berries (depends on what I have as to how much I throw in)

Bring to a boil. When berries are soft, mash them up (or blend them before you start). Add 1 Tb. maple flavoring (I use Mapeline). Syrup is ready to use. Strain if you want, but I don't mind chunky syrup. Keep any leftovers in your refrigerator, and use up within 2 weeks.


Fresh Fruit Smoothes:

I keep a good variety of fruit (thanks to Bountiful Baskets) in my freezers (we have 3 freezers - so yes, I need to get those cleared out too!). I have bananas, mangos, pineapple, peaches, apricots, blueberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and kiwi. I even have bags of fruit combinations ready to go. I just pull out a bag and go with it.

Now for the recipe:

2-3 cups frozen fruit
1 cup yogurt (doesn't matter if it's plain or flavored)
2 cups orange juice OR milk (or you can mix them)

Blend until smooth and pour into several glasses. Enjoy!

What to do with all these vegetables!

I participate in a food co-op called Bountiful Baskets. For $15, you can get a laundry basket full of fruits and vegetables. They also offer bread/bakery items and additional produce packs each week. You never know what you will be getting in your basket, but I can tell you there is a LOT of it - enough to feed a small army! And it's usually a balance of 6 different types of fruit and 6 different types of vegetables. Participation is always voluntary - you choose how often you want to participate (every week, once a month, twice a year, try once and never do again - you get the picture).

This past week, along with my basket I ordered a "Thanksgiving Hostess Pack." Along with all the other goodies, there were 3 bunches of celery and 3 bags of carrots in the mix (some in the basket & some in the hostess pack). Add these to the 3 bunches of celery and 2 bags of carrots already in my fridge (from previous purchase through the co-op and at the grocery store), and, well... you can see that I had a great need to use some of it, and fast!

So here's what I did with half of the celery and carrots: Chopped the celery and one onion, put it all in a large pan (I'm talking 8 quart pan, which was filled to the brim!) with 1 can of chicken broth and put it on the stove to cook until semi-tender. Sliced the carrots and put them in a separate pan (my largest saucepan worked nicely) and added just enough water so they wouldn't boil dry, and cooked until semi-tender.

I have a good collection of cookbooks. While the vegies were cooking, I perused some of my valued cookbooks. Home Cooked Heritage is one of my prized possessions. It is family cookbook that I helped compile back in the 1980s. It contains lots of wonderful recipes from extended family members, many of whom are now deceased. I also have a couple of other books that were compiled in my various places of employment.

After cooking the vegies, I made what was called a "chinese casserole" (recipe to follow, along with a few other good recipes for these vegies). I didn't think it was very chinese-y, but it was still tasty. I used only a small portion of these vegies. Most of them went into the freezer for use at a later date (I saved the liquids from them to make into soup today).

One interesting "bit of tid": At one time, back in the 1930's or 40's - long before my birth, when my dad was still a youth, my grandfather was a celery farmer. I don't know how long he did this (I need to re-read his history), but it wasn't a very long time. His celery was packaged and sold under the Big D label. Some time after the family moved to Idaho, they incorporated the farm (dairy and field crops - but not celery!) and it became the Big D Ranch. Some of my fondest memories are from spending my summers with my cousins on that farm!

I digress... So what am I going to do with all the celery and carrots? Well, here are some of the recipes I will be using this week.

Chinese Casserole - recipe is from my great aunt Ida

1 lb. hamburger
1 cup celery, chopped
1 pkg. frozen peas (I used carrots intead of peas)
1 small onion soup mix
1 can mushroom soup
1 can chinese noodls or 3 cups potato chips or cornflakes
salt & pepper to taste.

Brown hamburger and drain. Season with salt and pepper. Layer peas and celery on top of hamburger in casserole. Mix soup mix, soup and noodles or chips together. Place on top of layers. Bake 1/2 hour at 375 deg. Serve with rice.

Note: I revised this a bit while cooking last night. I layered in a 9 x 13 pan the rice (I used about 6 cups cooked rice), cooked hamburger (I had about 2 pounds, which I cooked earlier in the week with some garlic, salt & pepper, and an onion), celery, carrots, mixed soup mix & 2 cans mushroom soup with 1 can water and poured it over the top, then garnished with chow mein noodles.


Cream of Celery Soup: My own recipe
1 bunch celery, washed well and chopped (okay to leave the leaves on)
1 lb. bag of carrots, sliced
1 large onion, chopped
enough chicken broth to cover the vegies (I use 2-3 cans, and then add water if needed)
1 Tb. salt
1 tsp. pepper
2 cans evap. milk + 1 more can of broth
1 cup flour
1 cup margarine

Chop celery, carrots and onion. Put in a large pot and add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil until celery and carrots are tender. I leave it chunky, but you can blend and strain through a sieve if you'd like (saving all liquid and discarding pulp). In a separate pan, melt margarine then add the flour, stirring to make a nice roux. Stir in seasonings, milk and last can of broth. Cook until thickened, then add to the soup base. Heat through and serve.


Chop Chop - a recipe from my sister Jeri, who got it from her mother-in-law

1 large chopped onion
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped
1 can bean sprouts
leftover pork roast*
soy suace
1 Tb. beaded molasses
2 Tb. cornstarch
1 chicken boullion cube disolved in 1/2 cup water
leftover drippings from pork roast, if available

* after cooking the roast, save the drippings for future use!

Take 1 Tb. of fat from roast drippings, Saute celery and onion until clear. Add meat, sprinkle with soy sauce. Cover. Let mean warm. Add bean sprouts with liquid. Cover. In a bowl, combine 2 Tb. soy sauce, molasses, cornstarch, boullion, and leftover drippings. Add enough liquid to make 1 cup. Add to the skillet and cook until gravy is clear and thick. Serve with hot rice.


Glorified Ramen Noodles: My own recipe
2 tablespoons cooking oil (canola or peanut are great!)
1 1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
3 tablespoons fresh garlic, minced
1 cup green onion, sliced thinly, divided
3 cups celery, sliced
3 cups carrots, sliced on the diagonal or julienned
2 cups cooked shredded fatty pork, or other left-over meat
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 can chicken broth
1 Tb. corn starch
Spice packet from ramen noodle package
1 package ramen noodles, cooked and drained
1/2 tsp. sesame oil

Heat a large skillet or wok (if you have it) over medium-high heat. Add the oil and then the yellow onions. Cook until the onions start to caramelize. Add the garlic, celery, carrots, and half of the green onions. Stir until the carrots and celery becomes tender-crisp (about 5 minutes). Add the pork and heat through. Mix the soy sauce, chicken broth, spice packet, and corn starch, then add to the celery/pork mixture. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat, stirring until sauce is thickened. Add the noodles to the pork and celery. Add the sesame oil and toss to combine. Garnish with remaining green onion. Serve.