{February Foodfest} I Heart Brussel Sprouts

Wow,  no excuse for my lack of blogging this Monday.  But does Monday ever need an excuse?

It was a big day though, my c-section has now been scheduled for March 16th.  So glad to have an end in sight!  It was agony waiting the extra 3 whole days for Seth to come :).  At least there is one benefit to having a c-section.  Thankfully my doctor agreed with our plan to let me try for a natural delivery if Baby Girl decides to make her debut before the 16th - since she'd be more than a week early at that point, it's more likely she'll be small enough to be safe for me to deliver that way, so we're praying she comes on her own March 15th!

As for our February budget update, on Monday we were down to 6 pounds and 2 p left for this month after a quick run to Tesco for bread and then to Sainsbury's for Brussel sprouts cause, y'all,  when they brought our grocery order Sunday night, the only item they didn't have for our order was Brussel sprouts.  I was beside myself.  I had been looking forward to them for two weeks!  Since we haven't been doing grocery orders this month due to my lack of budgeting at the beginning of the month, I was having to live without because our little neighborhood Tesco doesn't carry them.  And they are definitely my most constant pregnancy craving.  I could go make some right now (and it's 3:40 pm).  I just got sad cause we're not having them for dinner tonight, but I guess they don't really "go" with cheese enchiladas and black bean soup.  I'm big on food "going together." It's kind of like middle school.

So, Brussel sprouts - does that seem like a weird craving?  I like them a lot when I'm not pregnant too, but the difference is when I am pregnant, we eat them at least 2 times a week - that is when I haven't gone crazy with the grocery budget.  And I assure you, the craving has nothing to do with living in Britain.  For those of you that didn't know, they are obsessed too, but we have very different methods of preparing them.  When asking my British friends about what they eat for Christmas dinner, Brussel sprouts are always on the list and usually one of their favorite dishes.  It's kind of like pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving. They couldn't believe it when I told them the first time I even tried Brussel sprouts was in my late 20s.  To my knowledge, my mom has never made them.  Because of my lack of experience, I jumped on the Brussel sprouts are disgusting bandwagon early.  I think I was indoctrinated through the countless readings of Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs  (Brussel sprouts and gorgonzola only for the whole day?!)

But I have been reformed!

Here is the recipe if you're a fellow Brussel sprout lover or want to get over your unfounded Brussel sprout prejudice - I dare you!

The Most Delicious and Easy Brussel Sprouts Ever

recipe by my mom-in-law: thanks Susan for making this pregnancy so happy!

You're on your own for measurements because I am in the land of the metric system.

1 bag of Brussel sprouts (280g I think - but to Americans, believe me I know how unhelpful this is)  already trimmed and washed because due to my lack of exposure, I wouldn't even know what part of the sprout you are even suppose to trim off. And I'm 9 months pregnant - I'm all about time management in the kitchen.
3 large cloves of garlic, minced
some crushed red pepper - you decide how much spice you want; it doesn't take a lot
EVOO - depends on how many sprouts you're using.  I start out with about 2 T and then add if they're getting too dry

Cut the sprouts in half while EVOO is heating up in a skillet on med-hi heat.

Add garlic and stir for a bit (maybe 30 seconds so it has time to flavor the oil).



Add sprouts and sprinkle red pepper.

Stir fry till desired done-ness (did I just make up a word?)  Ahh I just realized I left my black beans simmering on the stove for too long.  Be right back!

Whew - dinner disaster averted.

So I like to cook my sprouts till the cut side is kind of browned.  They usually end up cooking for about 20 minutes.

Enjoy!

3 years

Remembering our first baby girl today...

Tristan Joy Ince

February 28, 2009

"He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds." Psalm 147:3

"...we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope..." Romans 5:3-4

{February Foodfest} Less than a week to go

(With the grocery budget, not the pregnancy.)

I think we're going to make it folks.

I just tallied our budget as of today, and we have 9 pounds (aka "quid") and 37 pence (aka "p" for those of you unfamiliar with British currency slang) left to spend on groceries this month.  That may not seem like a lot, but it includes a grocery order that I did online and will be delivered on Sunday, so we will have 9.37 for our last 4 days to cover any ingredients I may be missing for my meal plan that week.  And no I haven't made it already even though I ordered my groceries for the week - why do you ask?

Don't worry, I've gotten this far haven't I?  And we've reached 36 weeks of pregnancy today so the inevitable daily walk to Tesco will just help move things along faster, right?

March will be a fresh start!  And then a few weeks into it, I will have a baby and meal planning, budgeting, cooking in general will completely go out the window will be graciously taken over by my hubby (and the nice folks at church who have offered to bring us meals for 2 weeks).

On a more exciting note, the Ince family was spontaneous today and decided on a whim to take advantage of the beautiful day God gave us and skipped town for a jaunt in the neighboring royal burgh (pronounce "burra") of Linlithgow, home of Linlithgow Palace, birthplace of Mary Queen of Scots (not to be confused with her English cousin "Bloody Mary").

Because we went in the middle of the day on a Friday (in February no less), we had the ruined palace to ourselves - it was a blast!  Seth ran from room to room exclaiming, "OH WOW!" at every fireplace or bed of rocks he came across.  I can't wait to go back when I'm not 9 months pregnant and can really explore all of the nooks and crannies (and make it up all of the millions of stairs to actually see the whole place) with them.

Our admission was free thanks to the Heritage Scotland passes we bought last year, and we even got a discount in the gift shop, so we splurged and bought Seth a plastic sword after discovering it would only cost 2 quid!  He didn't really get the concept and kept unsheathing it and trying to use it as a  flute, so Taylor gave him a little sword fighting lesson while I skipped to the loo.  Taylor recounted to me when I got back that mid lesson, Seth spotted a picture of Queen Mary on a sandwich board, dropped his sword, ran over toward her squealing, "Mary!" like she was his long lost best friend.  He thought Seth was going to plant a kiss right there on the sandwich board. I explained to him that there is a picture of her in one of his children's books and I had told him her name.  Once.  Now every time he looks at that book, when he gets to the page with her on it, he gets super excited and squeals, "Mary!"  I was so tickled that he recognized her here and had the same excited reaction.  It almost makes me want to name his baby sister "Mary." But not really.

I will post photos tomorrow - having computer issues at the moment and this pregnant mama needs to go to bed!

Happy Friday, y'all!

{February Foodfest} Recipes with a South Carolina flair

For our first anniversary back in 2007, Taylor and I had a weekend away in Charleston, SC.  Thanks to his parents, we stayed at the amazing Two Meeting Street Inn.

How cute is Taylor in this picture?  Love him.

It was all you could dream of when thinking vacation to Charleston and we had a great time - especially eating!  I came away from there with two dynamite recipes that I wanted to share (one being the reason for Monday's inevitable run to Tesco).  (I have to say that I was able to avoid it today - I texted Taylor instead - blessed husband to the rescue).

We would eat our breakfast on the wrap-around porch each morning.  It was divine - the atmosphere and the food!

This first recipe was my favorite thing they served for breakfast.  And I have to say, I can be difficult to please when it comes to breakfast.  I basically stick with oatmeal or pancakes because I am obsessed with carbs am very particular about how I will eat eggs - no cooked yolk thank you very much - which rules out everything, but fried over-easy and that's not fancy enough for Charleston.

Sausage Wellington
serves 24 (great for freezing!)

3 lbs sausage
2 T onion, grated
1/2 t sage
16 oz cream cheese
1 c shredded cheddar
1 can sliced mushrooms, pureed
3 pkg puff pastry sheets, thawed
2 pkg Hollandaise sauce mix
1 c butter
2 c milk
dash of Tabasco
18 slices tomato

1. Brown sausage, add onions, and sage.  Drain fat.  Add cream cheese and mix well.  Add cheddar.
2. Cut each pastry sheet into quarters. Put 1 heaping T of sausage mixture in the center of each square and fold pastry over to form a triangle; seal edges with fork.
3.  Bake pastries for 30 minutes at 400 degrees F.
4. While pastries are baking, in a saucepan, mix Hollandaise sauce mix, butter, milk and tabasco until sauce is thickened.  Pour over cooked pastry.

So yeah, my recipe doesn't say what to do with the mushrooms or tomato.  My guess is that the idea of pureed canned mushrooms grossed me out, so I left them out, and I think the tomato is supposed to be a garnish.  Be creative!:)



When we lived in Charlotte,  my cheerleaders, would beg me to make this second recipe each week for our Bible study lunch meetings.  They are a fun take off of brownies or blondies (the recipe not my cheerleaders).  Oooh, I could really go for a blondie right now actually - please comment with a good recipe if you have one!

Orange Brownies 

From Pillsbury Bake-Off

1 1/2 c flour
2 c sugar
1 t salt
1 c butter, softened
4 eggs
2 t pure orange extract
1 t grated orange zest

Glaze:
1 c powdered sugar
2 T OJ
1 t grated orange zest

Grease a 13x9x2 in pan and reserve.  In a mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, and salt.  Add buter, eggs, extract, and zest, and beat with an electric mixer till well blended.  Pour batter into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes, or till light golden brown and set.  Remove from oven and pierce top of entire cake with fork.  (I actually used a toothpick instead because the fork was pulling up the cake too much).

Glaze:
Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Stir till smooth.  Pour over hot cake.  Cool cake and cut into small squares.

These are yummy garnished with a single raspberry on each square.  I would take a picture of mine, but they are devoid of raspberries because it's the end of the month though if you've been reading along this month, apparently it wouldn't matter if it was the beginning of the month either!  Plus, I used a pan that was too small, so they came out too tall and thick - more like cake.  Tasted great, but legit Orange Brownies are thin.  I wouldn't want to steer you wrong.

Our first anniversary

This was definitely during that phase of I am a newlywed, so I must chop my hair.  Bad idea jeans, Robin.

As you can see in older posts, I haven't succumbed to that during the fairly new-ish stage of motherhood, maybe because Seth isn't a hair-puller.  Pray that Baby Girl is the same because, wow, that Mom cut doesn't look good on me!

Embracing the Camera (back in 2007) with Emily...

{February Foodfest} Pancake Day

I am still recovering from Monday, so last night we decided on a whim to celebrate "Pancake Day" which is a national holiday in Britain akin to Fat Tuesday.  But not really.  Basically the point is to use up all of the food you won't be using during Lent.  What did they eat back when this tradition started if they were trying to get rid of flour, milk, and eggs?

I am baffled.

(Please set me straight, Scottish friends if I have this all wrong - I don't want to misrepresent you!)

But we definitely ate pancakes last night because well, they're easy, and I had recently made a big batch of "bisquick" since I can't buy it premade here.

Here is the recipe especially for my sis-in-law, Saray, who loves it and can't get it in Israel either and for any Scots out there that want to take a stab at making pancakes instead of buying them premade at Sainsburys.  This, by the way, was so weird to an American to see packaged pancakes sitting in the bread aisle.  Right up there with the unrefrigerated eggs!

Culture shock.

Home Baking Mix (not quite as good as Bisquick, but the best I can do here in Edinburgh)

6 c flour
3 T baking powder
2 T powdered sugar
1 1/2 t salt
3/4 t baking soda
1/2 c plus 1 T canola oil

Mix dry ingredients.  Using a mixer, slowly stir in oil and mix till all lumps are gone.

To make pancakes, use 2 c of above mix, 2 eggs and 1 c milk though I have to say the pancakes were a little thick, so maybe add more milk...I also add almond extract.



If you have more time and want the best pancakes ever, this is my favorite pancake recipe.  We make these almost every Saturday, but just to warn you, they take forever to cook!

Buttermilk Pancakes (aka "Pancakes that worked" as dubbed by my friend Caroline though the name hardly does them justice)

Start off with 2 c flour.

Then add 3 t baking powder.

Next, 1 t salt.

And can't forget the 1/2 c sugar.

Then add 1/2 c oil - I use vegetable.

And mix in 1 egg (don't worry, they are refrigerated once they get to my house!).

Add your vanilla next. Caroline didn't specify in her recipe or Taylor forgot to write it down (he copied it from a recipe card she had taped on the inside of one of their kitchen cabinets); I think I use about tablespoon, maybe more.  I guess it will depend on your affinity for vanilla.

Last but certainly not least, 4 c buttermilk.  This is the key ingredient as well as the culprit in why it takes so long for them to cook.

Yum.

I won't tell you what Seth calls pancakes because it's not a nice word in Spanish (if that gives you any clue), but I can tell you, the second he sees one of us standing at the stove, flipping these babies, he's beside himself to have one.

I could just eat him up!

{February Foodfest} Yeah, not about food

Big President's Day fail on my part.  But since it was a holiday, I can count it as a weekend...right?  And I wasn't planning on blogging on the weekends.  Can we say justification?

Here is what my holiday was like yesterday (apparently they don't care about President's Day in Britain):

1. emptied dishwasher/did dishes/loaded dishes/swept
2. vacuumed - not so easy when you're almost 9 months pregnant
3. playdate - at our house
4. laundry - my dryer is 3 floors down, and in another building which requires me to access it from outside- again, not so easy when almost 9 months pregnant
5. hiked to Tesco for the elusive missing ingredient for dinner (oranges)
6. made dinner - not sure why this took me ALL of nap time (2-4) to do, but it did and then some, maybe because I couldn't use the blender or mixer during nap time for fear it would wake the Kracken.  You bet I was on the phone to Taylor at 5:30 begging asking when he'd be home (our neighbors were coming over at 6 for dinner).
7. cleaned up toys with Seth's help - does including your toddler on this make the process take four times as long for anyone else or is it just me?
8. collapsed in a heap on the couch when Taylor got home and instructed from there last minute preparations - he is the best!  He also let me lie on the couch (we have one in our kitchen though I use the term very lightly.  It's more like a sad excuse for a seat that you see in a doctor's office) while he cleaned up the whole kitchen which even though I completely cleaned up after myself when I made dinner, still somehow looked like a science project gone very wrong.

So yeah, no time to blog.  I went to bed by 9 pm which is unheard of for me.

I guess missing one day of the February Foodfest Challenge has made me feel rebellious and so I'm not going to post about food today either.  I know. It is kind of killing the "first child" in me.

Today, my friends, we have reached a new level of Angel Baby.  Remember this post? And especially this one?

Well after lunch, Seth was playing in his room while I was folding laundry in another.  I could hear him playing with his trucks and was glad that he was entertaining himself so well because I could tell toward the end of lunch he was getting sleepy but it was too early to put him down.   After a few minutes, I noticed the truck sounds had ceased, and he was saying, "night night" which is what he calls his pacifiers.  I only let him use them when he is in bed and that is where they are typically housed, but as I mention in my Long Tall Texan post last year, Seth is quite tall for his age and really has no problems reaching into the crib for his contraband (aka night nights) to use at will unless I remember to put them far up against the wall. So I walked into his room to see if he was ready for his nap

and.

found.

this.

Most moms have trouble with their 20 month olds climbing out of their cribs.  Mine likes to get in it when he's ready to sleep.

There are no words.

{February Foodfest} Meal Planning

Are you a meal planner?

I am a flaky meal planner.  I love the idea of thinking out our dinners ahead of time, adding the ingredients I lack to my online grocery order so I never have to step foot in the grocery store, and not having to worry about dinner each day.  But this doesn't happen very often.  Part of it is the dilemma of what if on that day I don't actually feel like eating that?  And apparently I like schlepping Seth to the grocery store every day for the one vital ingredient we need for the recipe I've stumbled across on one of the blogs I follow that my pregnant self has to have tonight!  I think part of me actually loves the thrill of finding a yummy recipe and discovering I have all of the ingredients already, or we could just call it what it is: procrastination.

A couple of years ago, in attempt to be more organized (and let's be honest, an excuse to buy stationery), I asked for a meal plan organizer for Christmas.  My mom-in-law commissioned our favorite stationer, Lisa, to create the elusive idea I had given her, and they came up with a cute design that included my plan for the week on one side and room to write my grocery list on the other.  It was so helpful and fun to write out, but it's in a box in my parents-in law's attic along with the rest of our house, so I haven't been very motivated to do this here.  Stationery is a big motivator in my life.

With our first world crisis, my need for meal planning has arisen once again, so I made my own meal plan sheet that I saved into a PDF so I can print it off each week.  Don't let me fool you, I am not computer savvy at all.  Anyone could easily do this as you will soon see evidenced by my photo.  It has been REVOLUTIONARY for my stress level.  It's definitely nowhere near as cute as my original one, but it works just the same (I'm using a separate pad of paper for my grocery list).  Or you could actually order a real one - here is an example I saw on another blog recently.

Here is an example from this week.  I wrote it all out, and then realized I needed to swap two of the days, and knowing that I wanted to post it here. I rewrote it so you would think I was neat and organized, and then Seth got ahold of it, so I guess an arrow would have sufficed (and given me five minutes of my life back).

You can see Seth's handiwork at the bottom half.
At least he knew to draw on the paper and not the counter, right?

I'd stick around a little longer, but as you can see, I didn't really plan for today, and we don't have sufficient leftovers, so I'm off to find a recipe online and then inevitably walk Seth to the grocery store to get our lone missing ingredient.  Old habits die hard.