Food and Faith Challenge: Challenge to Action

For the Challenge to Action question this week on the Food and Faith Challenge over at the Local Cook, the question is asked:

•Visit your local farmer’s market and let us know what’s in season right now. If your farmer’s market isn’t open yet, when does it open and what kinds of things are available from it?

I am an avid Farmer's Market visitor. I go every week (and even write the occasional article for the Examiner about them.) I'm very fortunate to have a year around farmer's market with an indoor market place that imports and uses local greenhouses and farms to supply superior produce at all times.

I prefer to shop the outdoor stalls of local farmers, but when the pickings are slim during the winter I will definately peruse the indoor vendors for better 'pickins' then I can find at the grocery store. Be careful though, many vendors don't always label everything giving you the impression its not imported from other countries. Even "farmers" can be deceitful to make a buck.

Many that I have come to know are pretty honest and straightforward though and I always enjoy an early morning with coffee and a stroll, conversation over the smell of fresh baked bread on a saturday at the market.

Currently in season is a wonderful display of cabbages, collards, sweet potatoes and cold tolerant root veggies. The occasional greenhouse tomatoe makes a bright splash of red and there is an array of colorful flowers and plants available for gardeners and flowerbeds. The meat providers are there in droves offering beef and pork. Fresh cheeses and breads are also appearing on the weekends when customers are plentiful.

A few weeks ago, there were one or two vendors braving the late winds of winter and now as the sun shines down the stalls are 3/4's full in both sheds. We have a large market and I'm so fortunate to be able to supplement my own growing with better options.

Sour Cream Coffee Cake

This is the recipe I impressed my grandmother with at Easter. Seriously, poised older Southern baptist lady. Compressed smile, folded hands, peering over her nose in disapprovement prissy grandmother. I finally got to her through my coffee cake (and my spinach lasagna). SCORE!

This recipe comes from a fellow NCer (soon to be back in her native SC-Congrats on the Farm!) and horse lover Branny from Branny Boils Over. Check out her site, its lovely!

Sour Cream Coffee Cake
Ingredients:
2 cups Self Rising Flour
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter (room temp)
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla

Topping:
1/3 cup light brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Directions:
Mix topping ingredients together and set aside. In KA mixer on medium speed with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugar. Add eggs and beat well. Mix in 1/2 of flour, then sour cream and then flour until blended smooth. Pour half of the batter in a greased and floured loaf pan. Sprinkle half of topping mixture and carefully spread. Carefully smooth the rest of the batter on top. Sprinkle the rest of the topping mixture and then bake at 350 for 55 minutes.

Make sure you use a large loaf pan or put a baking pan underneath. Mine went over the side a little bit.

I served with a choice of sides: sugared strawberries in juice, sweetened whipped cream and chopped walnuts. Everyone was able to make it their own special piece and LOVED IT.

Chocolate Fudge Pie

There is a war in my family over Chocolate Pie. My father and uncle have long fought over the chocolate pies at family dinners. One of the instances involved spitting and fingers. I believe it was my father (the younger brother ofcourse) who grabbed the pie off the table and took off with it. My uncle gave pursuit, grabbed it and stuck his finger in the center thinking that would prevent anyone else from wanting any. My father, never to be outdone, spit on it. He got the pie.

Please don't mistake that my family are trashy rednecks without manners (okay, they really kinda are), but they are extremely competitive and full of pranks in their hay day. Neither of these characters are up to the challenge of running much less chasing each other (though my dad would still probably give it a damn good effort) so I figure the safest bet is to never have the two of them at a family function or only one dessert.

I've never made the infamous pie. I will have to remember to get my aunt to give me the recipe, but I did make a chocolate FUDGE pie for Easter that was a huge hit. I will definately be making this again (which is a good thing as it was the one thing I forgot to snap a picture of!)

Chocolate Fudge Pie
Inspiration taken from Paula Dean's recipe
Ingredients:
Pie Crust
3-4 ounces of semi sweet chocolate chips
1 stick of unsalted butter
1 cup sugar
2 eggs, beaten (plus one with water for eggwash)

Directions:
Brush Pie crust with eggwash. In double boiler, melt chocolate and butter together, stirring gently until smooth. Turn off heat and add sugar. Stir until blended. Add eggs. stir until smooth. Pour the filling into pie crust and bake for 25 minutes (until just firm) in a 375 degree preheated oven. I topped with homemade sweetened whip cream and served chilled. EXCELLENT!

Easy Flaky Pie Crust

I admit to taking the easy way out...a lot! When it came to pie crusts I mostly just did Pillsbury roll out. Easy, tasty. Yum. In my new quest for health I decided to go the unpreserved route and finally conquer my own. So I turned to my trusty "Joy of Cooking" book and applied their basic recipe to the method I've seen on the food channel, because well, I'm still lazy. LOL It worked GREAT! Not complicated, flaky and delicious. I'll probably never go back to ready made again.

Easy Flaky Pie Crust
Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups Self-Rising Flour
1 tsp white sugar
2 sticks unsalted butter (very cold and in small pieces-slice down center and chop at tbs marks)
1/3 cup plus 1 tbs ice water

Directions:
In food processor, combine flour, sugar and butter and pulse until butter is covered and in pea size pieces. As you continue to blend on low, add icecold water. When balls start to firm it will only take a few seconds before you get one big dough ball.

Roll dough ball out onto floured surface. Gently smooth the ball and wrap in plastic. Place in fridge for atleast thirty minutes to make sure it is nice and cold. Roll out gently (don't mash it) and place in pie shell. Trim extra and place back in fridge to chill until you need it!

Menu Monday-After Easter

Well, my blog and online presence has been very quiet of late. I have a great reason though: lot's of new work to post. That's right, I have been busting my decreasing rear-end not only in the kitchen but in the garden and yard as well. Exciting new things: the big garden is coming along, little garden is being tended, new flower beds installed, and yummy holiday (or anytime) recipes.

Posts to look forward to: Strawberry Lime Cupcakes, Triple Lemon Cupcakes, Chocolate Fudge Pie, Homemade Pie crust, Sugar Cookies, Lemonade, Garden Updates, etc.

On the menu this week:

Biscuit Surprise

Paula's Garlic Cheese Grits

Turkey Something or Other

Butternut Squash Pasta

Veggie Pizza or Veggie Stuffed Pancakes (haven't decided)

Chicken Salad

Veggie Pot Pie

McFatty Monday-Easter Holiday Hazards

Dieting around a holiday is hard. Seriously. Dieting around Easter is not as long and drawn out as Christmas but its not the easiest thing that's for sure. Sweets EVERYWHERE. One word: Cupcakes

All things considered, I think I maintained some amazing self control despite my baking orgy that took place over the weekend: Triple Lemon Cupcakes, Strawberry Lime cupcakes, Easter shaped homemade Sugar cookies dipped in Lemon Icing, Homemade Chocolate Fudge Pie with a homemade crust and homemade whipped sweetened cream.

::wide eyed stare:: Yep, I made all that. along with a big pan of spinach lasagna and two roasted chickens. Everyone descended upon my house like a hoard of locusts, and yet there were still sweets leftover. I seriously ONLY had a serving of spinach lasagna and one cupcake. (But I can't lie and say I didn't like my fingers and the spoon repeatedly while making everything). Leftovers? Spinach lasagna and another cupcake.

My willpower is working so far. The only thing that remotely saved me was how much cleaning, gardening and running around I did this weekend. Seriously, cleaning my entire house is a major workout. I fully maintain even though its not a big house, it is way too big for the two of us. Between the shopping, the cooking, baking and cleaning, mowing, and planting flowers I was tee-totally EXHAUSTED every night to the point I could hardly move and slept like the dead. By the time Sunday rolled around I was done. But I worked anyway. We installed a new flower bed, complete with ripping out the ground (DH did that), installing black plastic, planting six azalea bushes and covering in cyprus mulch. We aren't done but it looks great and I can't wait to add in some hostas, tulips, mums and jonquils this fall.

So the good news is: I maintained some level of control during the holiday food parade. I worked my butt off enough to counteract the sinfully delicious cupcakes and did not gain a pound.

Bad news: I didn't lose any weight this week either. Which means I didn't get close to my goal. My goal was to be a certain weight for my birthday. (which is on Thursday). I'm still 9 lbs away and there is no way I can get there now.

I'm happy at how far I've come and everyone is starting to comment on the difference but I'm a little depressed at how far away I am from my goal.

Ms.Blair asks this week:

Have you adjusted any of your goals based on your success? Have you changed your approach to weight loss at all (ie started on one program, switched to another)? Have you ever taken a break & then picked it back up again? If so, what were your results?

I will be adjusting my goal this week for a new deadline and lower range as I missed this one. I have leaned more vegetarian dishes since starting this weight loss. I'm not sure why but possibly because I can get more flavor out of them and keep the calories down than with meat dishes. I have taken MANY breaks in weightloss and the results weren't good. LOL However, I think in the new lifestyle change, there aren't really any breaks. Do I focus on losing more than other times. yes. Like this week, I allowed myself some sweets because of the holiday but still maintained portion control. Thus I didn't lose. Like you though, now that I'm out in the yard more, I'm probably building a little muscle as I get back into shape so it may not just be the sweets. (I'll keep telling myself that any way).

Time

It's slipping away from me with every tick of the clock, page on the calendar.
It's already April. A quarter of the year down, no change in my life. Except I'll be another year older and see another year of my life down the drain. My dreams are becoming stagnant and I'm not doing anything to reach for them. I'm backing away.

Has it really been over 5 months since I lost my baby?
Five months since the pain and emotions were so overwhelming I wanted to crawl in a hole?
And now I continue day by day, pushing off TTC a little bit longer because I can't muster the energy to build myself up for another emotional ride.
I can't focus on all the good things that could happen, I only see horrible outcomes that I don't want to face.

I think my husband is getting frustrated but he doesn't say a word. I don't know what he wants and I don't ask anymore. I feel like any way I turn I can't give him what he wants. I can't give him a child when I try and I can't give him the trying anymore.

I have all these logical excuses now: FMLA after Jan. 25th. Too late to have it this year and get the tax deductions and not have to pay another deductible with insurance anyway. We could switch insurance to my company in June and have cheaper better insurance. I could lose more weight make it easier on my body. etc. We don't have the allergies and meds under control.

The reasons make sense but they also just push trying later and later and later till I no longer see a reasonable date and I'm starting not to care. It's like I'm taking baby xanax and am numb to it, except i still want one. Where's a damn stork when you need one? Can't the little bastard just drop off a bundle of joy like my momma said he would?