Got Bread?

So, after looking at a lot of bread in the bread aisle I can't seem to find a sandwich bread to enjoy when I want a sandwich. And being this past weekend had a holiday in it I of course had to have egg salad since I took the time to dye eggs with my over-excited toddler. So, I took the ten minutes to add ingredients to my bread machine to make some bread. I took the recipe from my Oster Expressbake breadmaker book and made it as follows:

1.5Lb. Loaf

1 cup water
2 TBSP coconut oil
3 TBSP almond milk (I think you can try this with any other milk like hemp or oat if you're nut allergic)
1 1/2 tsp. salt
3 cups bread flour
1 TBSP sugar
2 tsp active dry yeast

Directions:
Add measured liquid ingredients to pan.
Add measured dry ingredients to pan, except yeast.
Form a well in the flour and add yeast. (This machine says for the yeast to never touch the liquid while you're working with it)
Put pan in the machine and select the basic setting, crust color (I did medium) and the start button.

It does taste good. I think next time I need to warm up the coconut oil before adding it though because a little bit of it did clump up in one area. The bread does taste good though which is really the point of the end result.

I'm going dairy free for awhile

So I had been watching while my poor baby has been really gassy, uncomfortable, mucousy and rashy. I spoke to the pediatrician about it because it seemed to coincide with when I had dairy loaded meals or she got a nightly bottle. The doctor agreed with trying an elimination diet for a month to see if this would help. It's been a week of checking packages of everything I'm eating. I can honestly say that I did not realize how much that milk is in. I eat a lot of cheese and chocolate and bread. These things are pretty much all on the no go list now. I have to really search for dark chocolate that doesn't have milk solids in it. Luckily I found some at Trader Joe's and it's good but still doesn't quite hit the sweet tooth spot. As for bread for sandwiches...forget it! I have to make my own. Luckily I got a bread machine for Christmas. Today will be my first attempt making bread with almond milk. I'll let you know how it goes. So, I'm still mourning the loss of a huge part of my diet. On the positive side sweet baby is already starting to look less rashy and diaper changes are not as rancid and sickening. That is a definite upside. And breastfeeding is so important to me that losing the ability to eat some of my favorite foods is worth it for the baby to feel better. But you can be guaranteed that the day I'm no longer nursing or baby doesn't have any issues I'm having a donut or some peanut butter cups or a big Greek salad with extra feta. Until then I'll just dream of the foods I miss and hope to see continued progress of weight gain and overall health for her and myself. And I'll come up with ways to make the most of the new menu as I try to mangle my way through it.

I'm a nut to be excited

Over something so trivial. But I got to sit down and sew last night which was incredibly relaxing and I finished up some items for my kids as well as worked on some things for my etsy shop that needed working on. And today they have actually been listed which is amazing because while I was pregnant I was really too tired to do much. Ok i'm off for the moment to run a few errands.

The weight struggle

Our baby girl is still having some struggle with weight gain. I am now working with a lactation consultant to help me sort things out. I'm starting to add pumping sessions in where I can so I can supplement with my own breastmilk and get a supply boost as well.

We're still using formula to supplement and while it's not my ideal choice it's helping our daughter do what she needs to do which is grow. I do not envy any moms the diapers because the formula poops smell different to me and are stickier. And the expense of the cans are crazy that I just balk at the store when in the aisle. So we go in and have her weighed with the LC later this week to see if there's more/any progress. I'm keeping my fingers crossed for some positives for her and will keep chugging along between the formula and pumping which is my least favorite activity. My pump and I have a love/hate relationship. She pulls on my nipples that all I hear when her motor is working are expletives because that's what I'm thinking. And I coax myself to relax to get the job done as quickly as possible. When a session is done and I see however many precious ounces in the collection bottles I am thankful and think that I have to hook up with the bitch later on for another torture session. What can I say? I'm working on it.

Polenta with Garlicky Goodness (what else!)

So the hubby and I had a yen for this and it was delicious. Very filling and easy to make albeit a little time consuming. This can easily be made vegan or add some bacon for all you raging carnivores out there.

In a large pot you will need to put:
8 cups of water
At least 1 tsp salt (I just generously salt the water like I'm making pasta)

Bring the water to a rapid boil then add
2 cups medium or coarse ground corn meal for making Polenta.

Now, I've seen two different methods for this. One is to slowly add the meal to the water in a slow stream while stirring over the course of a minute or so. The other method is to just dump it in and still stir until there are no clumps. I've done both and haven't had an issue with clumps. The key is to really keep stirring this for a couple minutes while the water is still boiling. Once it's fully mixed after a couple minutes you'll see the texture start to change a bit. Turn down the pot to very low/low and put a lid on it. Stir it every so often (every ten minutes or so) for the next 45 minutes. Longer is fine too.

Now, the next part.....
In a large sautee pan put a generous amount of Olive Oil (4-5 TBSP roughly)
Add in:
3 medium onions sliced thin and start carmelizing them
2 small heads of garlic separated, peeled and sliced (the ones we used were barely larger than a US half dollar in diameter) also for carmelizing
10 oz sliced mushrooms to sautee and start reducing.
Add salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.

{For the carnivores....This would also be the time to fry up some bacon and tear it into pieces like large bacon bits. Once cooked set to the side.}

Then once the polenta is near cooked add to the sautee pan 20 0z washed, patted dry spinach and let it wilt. Add more salt and fresh cracked black pepper to taste.

Add 2 TBSP butter to the polenta pot or vegan alternative (is that margarine? I apologize that I don't know) and mix in thoroughly.

To serve:
Spoon polenta into a bowl and top with the mixture from the sautee pan {Add bacon bits here as well if you're using them}. We added some of the juice from the pan and was full of garlic and onion flavor which was wonderful. Enjoy! Serves 4 roughly.

If you have leftover polenta but nothing else fry up the polenta in wedges and serve with some herbed butter and parmesan cheese.

Tandem breastfeeding

So, now that my newborn is here we are tandem nursing. It is an adventure in itself and not always the most pleasant so far. My high needs toddler is still working through jealousy issues and my newborn is a lazy nurser who I have to figure out how to wake up to nurse. The baby is finally above birthweight at 6 weeks old and that was a struggle. Waking her at night was the biggest problem because the world could come crashing down beside her and she'd sleep through it. She right now is sleeping a four hour stretch and then wakes up. We, unfortunately, are being asked to supplement even though I know why she wasn't gaining in the beginning between being jaundiced and then sleeping so much in a 12 hour stretch at night. Our solution to the sleeping is sleeping with her and letting her have full access at night. So, she nurses after her four hour stretch for the rest of the night until the toddler wakes up. When he's awake then we start our day and get rolling. I'm still trying to figure out how to meet everyone's needs including my own. But, I just started reading "Adventures in Tandem Breastfeeding" by Hilary Flowers and I'm sorry I didn't start it when I got pregnant so I could have prepared myself better. I'll keep you posted on our journey! Happy lactating.

Turkey Meatballs

As a warning, we LOVE garlic here and use A LOT OF IT. :-) If you don't love it as much as we do adjust to suit your tastes. The flavor really is great in these though.

So, we shop at the Big Evil (Wal-Mart and it will only be known from now on as the BE) when we can't make it to the commissary for some things because we just can't afford to shop anywhere else and our local farmers markets are only open during the week. I don't have a car normally so going to shop there is not going to happen right now until we get a second car in the next few months.

Get your gloves ready though and enjoy.

3 lbs ground turkey
2 onions on the larger side of medium chopped very fine
3 heads of peeled garlic pressed or minced
3 eggs
1.5 cups of Italian seasoned breadcrumbs
4 TBSP Italian blend herbs
1 tsp each of garlic salt, onion powder, and salt
1.5 tsp of black pepper (we mix this up between fresh cracked and the stuff in the can)
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese

In a large mixing bowl mix all the ingredients together until it's all nicely incorporated. Roll out the meat into balls and set aside. You should be able to get at least 40-70 meatballs depending on how big or small you roll them.

Fry these up in a skillet with extra virgin olive oil in it. Make sure you get some nice carmelization on them. You can cook them half through and set aside what you're not going to eat at dinner time for freezing. Cook the rest all the way through and add your favorite sauce or gravy and serve with pasta or on a roll as a sandwich. We've done both and it's oh so good!

For the ones being set aside for the freezer.... Let them cool completely before putting them in your freezer container. We use a food sealing system. So I stick them in the bag and let them freeze overnight. The next day I cut open the bag just below the seal and reseal them taking the air out so they'll take up less room. When I'm ready to cook them I take out the desired amount of meatballs and let them thaw in the fridge for a couple hours. Then I'll stick them in a pot with sauce even if they're not completely thawed and cook them on very low with a lid on it. Check them throughout so you don't burn the sauce and when they're done serve however desired. Enjoy! We usually do ours so that we'll have enough for leftovers the next day for lunch and then there's nothing to worry about in the morning before work or taking the kids out.