Breakfast in a Bowl

We love oatmeal for breakfast, so there is always a large pot made about every two or three days. I doctor it up so there are lots of flavors from the first taste to the last. Yesterday, I made it with a new twist, added some unsweetened apple sauce. This morning, the flavors had married more than usual and it was yummy! Then I decided it was time to share my secret recipe.

In a 2 quart Pyrex measuring cup, add 2 cups of hot water and 2 cups of almond or soy milk or 1 cup of each. To this add 3/4 cup raisins or 1/2 cup raisins and 1/2 cup chopped dates  1 tablespoon of grounded flax, 2 tablespoons of ground brown rice, 2 tablespoons of ground almonds, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon, 1 teaspoon nutmeg, 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla,  and 1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce. Salt is not really necessary as there is so much wonderful flavored already. Stir and add 2 cups of old fashioned oats and mix well.

Microwave for 9 minutes, stirring a couple of times. You may cook on the stove until desired thickness, stirring often so it doesn't stick to bottom of pan. If it is not thick enough for you, be patient, it will set up as it cools.

Serve with almond or soy milk and brown sugar if desired.

We like this year round, but now with the autumn leaves starting to tumble from the trees and there's a chilly nip to the air, it seems to taste even better.

If you add something different in any way, I would be interested in trying it, so please share in a comment.

Fall's arrival

This is a year we will all remember. Cold, bitter windy winter; late, late wet spring; cool early summer and beautiful August, which changed to a challenging September with frost from the eleventh to the fourteenth. We are definitely wanting warmer weather, it is only 54 out right now and it is only 54 right now.  Half our 230 acres of soybeans had a killing frost. We are trying to be hopeful that they made it as they were starting to turn.  Most people have their wheat off or nearly off. Some farms still have rye grass laying and too wet to take off. We need sun and heat!

I have been busy harvesting the garden. We had twelve potato plants. I know that isn't much but it is plenty for us. We ended up with about a hundred pounds which I am sure pleased with having. Two five gallon pails are also full of butternut squash and we have about half a pail of onions. The tomatoes are as slow as the year is at getting ripe. We did cover them during the night so didn't lose any to Mr. Frost. I would have been very cranky if that would have happened.

Last night I chopped up one of the delicious large tomatoes, quarter of an onion, and a half of a green pepper, added cilantro and added some Jalapeno pepper to it. it was so good with humus, kale, and sour cream on a pita!



Think of the best thing that happened to you today, meditate about it, and put it in your memory bank. Have a great day!
Charleen

Apple Crisp and Large Quanity Apple Pie Mix

Our apple tree is loaded with apples this year. Last year when James was home during the spring (20013) and pruned the tree. He was very disappointed to hear it didn't have many apples on it. Well, that was definitely not the case this year! This is what it looks like this year!

On Thursday, my hubby picked about 3/4 of a 2 1/2 gallon pail of apples. Now these apples are quite small, like crab apples. We have had a dry summer and I only fertilized the tree, did not water it. He loves apple crisp and asked if I would make some. Friday I washed them but did not core or peel them, just sliced them in the food processor. We could not tell the difference in whether the seeds and peeling were in the apple crisp or not, it was delicious!

 So here is the recipe. You can use the apples of your choice, only rely on the sugar according to the sweetness of your apple. The first crisp you make will tell you if it is sweet or sour!

 

Apple Crisp

 

6 Granny Smith or Gala apples

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/2 cup sugar according to your apples

Pinch salt

1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

Topping:

1 1/4  cups all purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup chopped pecans or pecans

1 cup old fashioned oatmeal

1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg 

1  stick unsalted butter

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F and grease a 9/13 inch pan.

2. Peel, core and cut the apples into chunks. Place the apples in a bowl and add the lemon juice, sugar, salt, ground cinnamon and ground nutmeg and set aside.

3. For the topping: Combine the flour, sugar, brown sugar, oatmeal and butter in a bowl. Mix well until well combined.

4. Pour the apple mixture in the baking dish. Sprinkle the topping evenly over the apples.

5. Bake until the topping is crisp and golden brown and the apple filling bubbles slowly, about 50 minutes. Serve warm. Great with vanilla ice cream or cheddar cheese.

 

Now if  if you have lots of apples, use the following recipe. It makes many batches of apple pie mix. 

 

Apple Pie/Crisp Mix

4 ½ cups sugar

10 cups water

1 cup corn starch

3 Tbsp lemon juice (Real works)

2 tsp cinnamon, adjust according to how much you like

2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp salt

Mix together and cook until thick and then cool

2 gallons of apples, peeled and sliced, do not cook the apples. If you use small apples

 just remove the seeds, or don't, slice in a food processor.

Combine the apples and mixture and fill large peanut butter jars or yogurt/cream cheese two cup containers. Use two yogurt/cottage cheese containers for a  9/13 pan or a pie, the next size down makes an 8/8 pan. Be sure to make sure you use the amount of mixture necessary for the apples.

Freeze and thaw as needed.

This is a wonderful recipe!

Bon Appetite!

Another day on the farm without rain, just clouds. After an inch an a quarter on Sunday we are waiting for the sun to break through and remind us that spring is going to arrive soon.

It is sort of a lazy day. I did some indexing of birth records and when I finished it, I closed it then reopened it to find that number one was not the same, what that is all about is confusing. I decided to totally close it and am waiting to see how it opens, I have finished this record so am anxious to see if the order is right.

How many of you purchase the packages of baby kale and spinach? I find that if I don't use or within a couple of days I have to unload the whole bag and separate the spoilt lol leaves from the good ones. It takes much more time to make a salad this way. We eat quite a bit of curly kale. I like it steamed the best with a raspberry vinegar drizzled on top. Sometimes I will use it as a base for a warm cold salad, adding apples, tomatoes, cucumber, zucchini, and sometime a little grated Parmesan sprinkled on top, with a drizzle of balsamic vinegar. The nutrition in kale is unbelievable. Kale is loaded with vitamin A and C, along with other vitamins and minerals. This evening I made a spinach and baby kale salad for Ardmore for summer, dressing it with sliced green onions, tomatoes, cucumbers, and apples. We had some left over chicken I had made for him so he added that too. I love a good salad.

James, Ashley and Lance Bjorn have spent the last two days together in LA before she comes to spend some time with us. It will be the first time she has been here without James so I hope we all adjust to each other. She will have to pretend she is at home! She will have the bedroom downstairs, which should give her some privacy. It will be quite an adjustment but she will have lots more room.

Name three of favorite your summer plans.

Thought for the day.
"A man should look for what is, not for what he thinks it should be." Albert Einstein

Heart Disease and How to Escape the Widow Maker

I am examining where I am today compared to six months ago when I had a coronary angiogram procedure. One morning in August, while combing my hair, I suddenly became very short of breath with a tightness in my chest, soon after I had a pain in my back and started sweating. I immediately thought it was an angina attack and reached for a couple of aspirin and headed to lay down. The spell passed but I called the clinic and made an appointment to see my family doctor the next day.

About six months prior, I started taking my blood pressure on both arms and noticed a 10 to 20 point difference on the systolic blood pressure. After requesting that my blood pressure be taken on both arms the next time I went to the doctor and it was different, I was told this was not uncommon. I thought, there must be a reason though and did some research. According a  Harvard Health Blog  it could be a sign of circulatory problems that may lead to stroke, peripheral artery disease, or other cardiovascular problems. I started to watch for signs of heart trouble. I did have shortness of breath and had for quite a long time, definitely a sign. According to the American Heart Association I had the classic signs.

Because I have acid reflex and a hiatal hernia; my doctor thought that was my problem. After I told him the signs I was experiencing, he decided to do an EKG and did a special blood test that determines if a person could have heart disease. Both tested positive so the next Monday I was giving a stress test, with a THR and TKR running on a treadmill would not be the best so I was given a chemical stress test. . On Wednesday, I received a resting scan. I had been told that I looked like I had had a heart attack by the nurse who conducted the first stress test so I wanted the results as soon as possible.

I called on Thursday and was told it was ischemia, which indicated I had a blockage. I was scheduled to see a cardiac doctor on the following Monday at 9 am. That was quick! I received an echocardiogram and was scheduled for a Wednesday angiogram. One of the things I was told was that I did not have a heart attack and there was no damage to my heart. I do have a Left Bundle Branch Block.

During the angiogram, I had a 90% blockage in the left descending artery and the branch off the left descending artery was 99.1% closed. While the procedure was being done, they both occluded, at which time I had much pain. My doctor was able to open them both, he installed a stent in one and did angioplasty on the other one. When he came back to check on me afterward, he told me I was a miracle and had to be very careful. I have wondered what he meant by careful as he didn’t expand on that.

Now at six months out, I am extremely happy to say things look very good. The first thing I did was to go on the Esselstyne and Ornish vegan diets. I say both, as I do eat whites. Both of these diets are suppose to reduce and prevent heart disease. When I first went to the doctor a Lipid test  was taken to determine in cholesterol count. Although it looked like I wasn’t too bad, my total count was 199, my HDL 45, my LDL 134, and my Triglycerides was 139. After being on the diet for a two and half months, my cholesterol was at 111, HDL was 40, LDL was 42, and Triglycerides was 85. My doctor was concerned that it was too low but this is not uncommon when you are on this diet. I will see what my new cardiologist says this coming Thursday in Grand Forks; my former cardiologist retired the end of 2013.


Periodically I will post how I am doing with the heart disease, on the diet, and what the Lipid test results continue to be are. I will also post vegan and vegetarian recipes I have put together and from other web sites.
Right now, I am going out to take a walk and check what effect the 18" of snow has on our farm.