Nancy on the Home Front

Goal Setting Week 30 Update

This was a busy week as we prepared to head east for a big family reunion. Looking forward to being back on the east coast and catching up with family and friends. Made a little progress on goal setting however.

Continue to monetize my blog. This is my ongoing goal. Have you taken the time to check out my page on Amazon? This page is where I put all the items I just love, from favorite cookbooks to gardening tools. Please check it out. I do thank all of your who have taken the time to check out my Amazon page and purchased from the various links in my bog posts. It is slowly paying off and it’s nice to have some money coming in to pay for the expenses of blogging.

2. Create a cookbook. Breaking this goal down into smaller goals has been a big motivator! I keep plugging away at this goal. Even put it on my laptop so I could work on it while we’re on the east coast!

Shopping for a new laptop?, goal setting

3. Have 20 minutes of exercise at least 5 times a week. No problem maintaining this goal during the summer. Much harder during the dark, cold winter months!

4. Explore ~~ten~~ 3 parks or hiking trails in the state of Washington or Oregon! No new parks this week instead we will be enjoying time on a lake in New Hampshire. No place better to enjoy the weekend.

5. Incorporate 20 1 new recipes into our dinner plans with the focus on healthy eating. Another vegetarian recipe this week, Grilled Vegetables with Couscous. Such an easy recipe and so delicious. Just grill some vegetables and toss them with couscous. What could be easier! I’ll be sharing the recipe soon!

6. Read 35 10 new books this year. After reading The Huntress I considered taking a break since I enjoyed the book so much but instead I went ahead and read The Great Unexpected by Dan Mooney, my 25th book of the year. I really enjoyed this book about two roommates in a nursing home with different outlooks on life. Despite their opposite outlooks they become good friends and go on some crazy adventures.

7. Complete ~~Four~~ 1 knitting or sewing projects this year. Just one more project to complete this year. However knitting has been put on hold until the weather cools off.

8. Visit family on the west coast. No plans for visits with family on the west coast, instead we are catching up with family and friends on the east coast!

9. Explore ~~Six~~ 4 new museums in the area. No new museums on the west coast, hoping to check out at least one while we’re on the east coast. There are several old houses that I would love to visit in the town we grew up in.

10. ~~Find A New Home~~ COMPLETED! Wonderful to have this goal completed! Our new house is finally feeling much more like our home. The majority of the unpacking is behind us and we just have some art work to hang on the walls. So nice to have this goal completed!

“Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. .“
John Wooden, College Basketball Coach

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For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting Nancy On The Home Front.

A Guide to Food Safety and Kitchen Clean Up

An essential part of preparing a meal is making sure to use the proper food safety techniques. Without proper safety protocols your food can become contaminated and pass along foodborne illnesses to whomever eats or comes in contact with it. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) states that 48 million Americans become sick from foodborne illnesses each year. Of those 48 million people, 128,000 are so sick that they need to be hospitalized, and 3,000 people even die from the foodborne illness. To prevent foodborne illness from happening to you or your family, it is important to practice food safety protocols while handling, preparing, and storing all of your meals.

Cleaning Up the Kitchen

Keeping your kitchen clean is an important step in food safety. After each meal, it is important to clean and sanitize all surfaces where food was prepared or handled. All surfaces should be washed thoroughly with hot water and soap. For a deeper clean the surfaces can even be washed with a diluted chemical mixture of 1 tablespoon bleach and one gallon of water. All cooking appliances used when preparing the meal should also be washed thoroughly inside and out. An important step that most people tend to forget about is cleaning out your refrigerator. You should be going through your refrigerator once a week to discard any expired items to prevent growing bacteria. Vegetables and Fruits should also be rinsed under water before being consumed to get rid of any pesticide residue. You should always clean your hands thoroughly after touching any raw meats or fish as well, this will help prevent transporting harmful bacteria.

Know Your Temps

Foodborne Illness is caused by harmful bacteria, some of the most common being Escherichia coli, Salmonella, and Staphylococcus. This harmful bacteria can be consumed by eating undercooked foods and can be prevented by making sure all food is being cooked to their accurate internal temperatures. This can be done by using a kitchen thermometer. Checking the internal temperature is especially important when preparing foods like meats, fish, poultry, and eggs. Before preparing a new recipe, be sure to research what temperatures your ingredients should be kept at to avoid them being in a danger zone for the harmful bacteria.

Food Organization

When buying food at the grocery store, look for broken seals and damaged containers before putting them in the cart. Also, be sure to check expiration or sell by dates to only purchase fresh and safe to eat foods. When cashing out in the register line, be sure that your meat or fish is packaged separately to avoid juices spreading onto your other foods. Separation is key when storing your foods away at home as well. You should always store raw meat or seafood below any other foods in your refrigerator and place them in plastic bags to avoid contamination. If possible, use different cutting boards and other cooking utensils for meats or fish and veggies. If not, be sure to clean them thoroughly in between each use. Doing this will lessen the chances of leftover bacteria being transported from your raw meats or fish to your cut veggies and fruits.

Source: Cleaning Building Services

Homemade Sushi: Nori Rolls with Veggies

In our quest to eat healthier this summer I decided to try making homemade sushi. I wasn’t going to try using raw fish, instead I would make Nori Rolls with Veggies. We have made summer rolls before using rice wraps but I had never tried using seaweed as the wrap! They are my favorite and what I will often pick up when I am out and about. You can buy sheets of nori seaweed in your grocery store. The other ingredients you probably already have in your cupboard.

Homemade Sushi: Nori Rolls with Veggies

This recipe makes 2 servings but is easily doubled.

Ingredients

2 sheets of nori seaweed
1 cup cooked brown rice
½ medium avocado
½ medium carrot, cut into matchstick sized pieces
½ cucumber, cut into thin strips

Directions

Place the nori on a cutting board. Top with rice, covering half the nori lengthwise.

Top with avocado, carrot, and cucumber. Roll up from the bottom, being careful not to tear the nori. Wet the end of nori to seal; cut each roll into six slices and serve.

If you want you can sprinkle with nori gomasio which is a delicious mixture of toasted sesame seeds, salt and toasted nori seaweed.

Nori Gomasio

Ingredients

¼ cup sesame seeds
½ tsp. Himalayan salt
1 sheet of toasted nori seaweed

Directions

Heat the sesame seeds in a medium skillet over low heat, stirring frequently until they turn a gold brown and begin to pop. Remove from the heat. Cool for ten minutes. Place the toasted sesame seeds salt and nori in a small food processor, pulse until the seeds are cracked open, don’t grind to a smooth consistency. You want to keep some of the texture of the seeds. Store in an airtight container.

Sourdough Blueberry Scones

The last few weeks I’ve been enjoying all the local blueberries! I’ve made blueberry meringues, blueberry tarts and now sourdough blueberry scones! Can you tell I just love fresh blueberries? I also enjoy making scones.

I’ve made in scones in the past, Maple Oat Scones, Pumpkin Scones, Cranberry Orange Scones and Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Scones. I think I may enjoy scones almost as much as fresh blueberries so the combination seemed right. Why not add some fresh blueberries to a scone recipe? It seems like the perfect combination.

I also wondered if it was possible to use my sourdough starter in a scone? After doing a little research online I found it was totally doable and the result was delicious. This recipe which I found on the website wildyeastblog.com, was just perfect.

Have you made scones before? It’s really quite simple. Basically mixing your dry ingredients, add liquid and flavoring and form into scones. I use my mini scone pan, which makes small, bite size scones. The scones go further and I feel a little less guilty eating just one.

Sourdough Blueberry Scones

Ingredients

50 grams flour
130 grams whole wheat flour
1 ½ tsp. Baking powder
½ tsp. Baking soda
5/8 tsp. salt
50 grams brown sugar
½ cup butter
40 grams rolled oats
50 grams half and half
244 grams sourdough starter
170 grams blueberries
1 beaten egg

Directions

You may find weighing ingredients is not what you are used to but your end results will be much more accurate.

Line an 8 inch cake pan with lightly buttered plastic wrap. Place the blueberries in the cake pan.

Using your food processor, place the flour, whole wheat flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt in the bowl of the food processor. Give the mixture a few pulses just to combine everything. Cut the butter into small pieces and pulse the butter with the dry ingredients until the mixture resembles peas.

Transfer the mixture to a bowl. Toss in the oats lightly with a spatula. Then add the half and half and the sourdough starter and mix lightly with you hands. Press the dough into the pan over the blueberries. Cover the top with plastic wrap and place into the freezer. Freeze for at least four hours or overnight.

Unmold the frozen scone round.

Use a sturdy knife and cut the round into 8 wedges. Transfer the scones to a parchment lined baking sheet. Let them stand until slightly thawed, about 30 minutes.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Make an egg wash by eating the egg together with a splash of water and a pinch of salt. Brush the tops and sides of the scones with the egg wash. Bake for about 30 minutes, or until the scones are set and lightly browned.

Enjoy while they are warm!

Goal Setting Week 29 Update

Loving our Cultural Passes we get through the library. Managed to go to The Oregon Garden this week. Well worth the hour long drive and can’t wait to go again! As far as goal setting think it counts more of a park than a museum!

Continue to monetize my blog. This is my ongoing goal. Have you taken the time to check out my page on Amazon? This page is where I put all the items I just love, from favorite cookbooks to gardening tools. Please check it out. I do thank all of your who have taken the time to check out my Amazon page and purchased from the various links in my bog posts. It is slowly paying off and it’s nice to have some money coming in to pay for the expenses of blogging.

2. Create a cookbook. Breaking this goal down into smaller goals has been a big motivator! I am currently in the process of copying and pasting all 400 recipes into a document which we can then have published. amazing what you can accomplish when you just look at something a little differently.

3. Have 20 minutes of exercise at least 5 times a week. Still managing to get at least 20 minutes of exercise in each week, between exploring The Oregon Garden, picking blueberries and just walking to get the mail this doesn’t seem to be a problem!

4. Explore ~~ten~~ 3 parks or hiking trails in the state of Washington or Oregon! This week we explored The Oregon Garden, which I guess is more of a park than a museum. It was a beautiful day and we’ll definitely be heading back. With 80 acres to explore we didn’t get to see everything!

5. Incorporate 20 2 new recipes into our dinner plans with the focus on healthy eating. Our latest vegetarian recipe was a delicious Lentil and Quinoa Pilaf. I’ll be sharing the recipe in a few weeks.

6. Read 35 11 new books this year. A book that I’d been waiting for in the library finally came in! I just finished reading my 24th book of the year, The Huntress by Katie Quinn, which is just as good, if not better than her previous book The Alice Network. I found myself sitting and reading whoever I had a free moment.

7. Complete ~~Four~~ 1 knitting or sewing projects this year. Just one more project to complete this year. However knitting has been put on hold until the weather cools off.

8. Visit family on the west coast. No plans for any extended visits anytime soon. The countdown has begun for our big trip to the east coast. Looking forward to seeing all our friends and family and spending some time on the water!

9. Explore ~~Six~~ 4 new museums in the area. We finally made it to The Oregon Garden which I decided really can’t count as a museum, more like a park! Such a beautiful spot to explore.

“I learned this, at least, by my experiment: that if one advances confidently in the direction of his dreams, and endeavors to live the life which he has imagined, he will meet with a success unexpected in common hours.”
Henry David Thoreau, Author Walden Pond

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site.

For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting Nancy On The Home Front.

Helpful Sites for Meal Planning

Are you a meal planner? If not, why don’t you meal plan? Too busy, don’t like leftovers. Don’t like to cook, don’t know what you want? Here are a few helpful sites for meal planning.

One of my favorite sites is https://www.skinnytaste.com. The meals are simple and easy to prepare and each week they put together a meal plan for the week ahead. If you’re short on ideas or don’t even know how to plan a week at a time this is a great place to start. I’ve made many of their recipes and even own two of their cookbooks, The Skinnytaste Cookbook and The Skinnytaste One and Done so you can tell I’m a real fan.

Another great site for meal planning is CookingLight.com. They also provide a week of healthy meal prep. Each week they bring you five recipes that you can make in 45 minutes of less. They have a newsletter you can sign up for where they will send you the recipes, plus tips, advice and more.

A third site is TheKitchen.com, they also have meal planning ideas which include weeknight dinners, freezer friendly meals and even a week of stir fried dinners.

Have food in the fridge or the pantry that you want to use up and need some ideas? SeriousEats.com allows you to explore recipes by ingredients, dish type, method and cuisine. This is the perfect site if you’re wondering how to use up ingredients you already have on hand.

Hate to waste food but don’t know how to meal plan and use up those leftovers? Check out SaveTheFood.com. You can create custom meal plans and perfectly proportioned shopping lists that help you stop wasting food. They will help you build a plan or you can choose one of their plans.

Another helpful site is the NYTimes.com, they offer a newsletter devoted to weeknight recipes for busy people who still want something good to eat.

Our crazy schedules and busy lives often make meal planning difficult. Check out these helpful sites for meal planning and you may find a few ideas to help you get started.

Southwestern Veggie Taco

After the Cinnamon Bun recipe and the Blueberry Meringue recipe I shared recently you may think we’re trying to eat healthier meals. It’s all in moderation. We try to eat healthy meals 80% of the time and enjoy those special delicacies the other 20% of the time. Southwestern Veggie Taco is a quick and easy meal. You will have to cook up some black beans and rice first but if you have any leftover this is a perfect way to use it up. The recipe only serves two people, but can easily be doubled or tripled if you are feeding more.

I love meals you can create from leftovers and this is a perfect way to use up your leftover black beans and rice.

Southwestern Veggie Taco

Ingredients

½ avocado, mashed
4 Tbsp. Salsa
3 cups Black Beans and Rice
½ cup cooked corn kernels
2 (6 inch) corn tortillas

Directions

Combine the mashed avocado and the fresh salsa in a small bowl; mix well. Set aside. Add the corn to the black bean and rice mixture and place some of the mixture on each corn tortilla, top with the corn. Fold the taco over and serve with the avocado and salsa mixture. Makes two servings.

Black Beans and Rice

Ingredients

1 cup canned black beans, drained
½ tsp. Extra virgin olive oil
2 dashes of chili powder
2 pinches of cumin powder
½ tsp. Ground coriander
2 Tsp. Liquid Aminos
1 ½ cups of cooked brown rice

Directions

Combine the beans, oil, chili powder, cumin, coriander, liquid aminos, and salt to taste in a medium saucepan, mix well. Heat the mixture over medium heat for 1-2 minutes or until heated through. Remove from heat and gently stir in the brown rice. Makes two servings.

Next time you’re looking for a light and tasty meal try this recipe for Southwestern Veggie Tacos, perfect for lunch or dinner.

Summer Dessert: Blueberry Meringues

Blueberries are in abundance right now and nothing tastes better than fresh blueberries. I was looking for a dessert that was not fattening and I decided to make Blueberry Meringues. I’ve made meringues plenty of times and I’ve even made a meringue pie, but never blueberry meringues. Adding fresh fruit to meringue intensifies the flavor and each bite was like eating a fresh blueberry.

Blueberry Meringues

Ingredients:

3 egg whites, room temperature
¼ tsp. Cream of tarter
½ cup sugar
1 cup fresh blueberries

Directions:

With an electric mixer combine the egg whites and cream of tarter. Beat at a high speed until the egg whites are foamy. Gradually add the sugar and continue beating until the egg whites are very stiff and glossy, but not dry. Fold in the blueberries.

Line your baking sheet with parchment paper. Drop the meringues by spoonful’s onto the paper about two inches apart.

Bake at 275 degrees for 40 minutes or until the meringues are firm but not browned. You want to make sure the meringues are not still soft. You can even shut the oven off and let them cool in the oven. Makes about 2 dozen meringues.

If you have never tried adding fruit to meringues give it a try, it really intensifies the taste of the fruit.

We may not have all the blueberry bushes we used to have when we were living in Vermont, but there are fields of blueberries close by and ready to pick. We’ve been taking advantage of the pick-your-own to fill our freezer and pantry this year! If you can’t grow your own I am all for supporting the local farmers who are growing their own fruits and vegetables.

Goal Setting Week 28 Update

This past weekend we finally made use of our library pass and visited the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum. Such an amazing museum. We’ll definitely be heading back! I’m so glad that I write a weekly post on goal setting because it keeps me motivated!

Continue to monetize my blog. This is my ongoing goal. Have you taken the time to check out my page on Amazon? This page is where I put all the items I just love, from favorite cookbooks to gardening tools. Please check it out. I do thank all of your who have taken the time to check out my Amazon page and purchased from the various links in my bog posts. It is slowly paying off and it’s nice to have some money coming in to pay for the expenses of blogging.

3. Have 20 minutes of exercise at least 5 times a week. My husband and I are back to working out on a daily basis. Much as I don’t really enjoy getting up and working out first thing I feel so much better afterwards! I sure feels good to be moving again on a regular basis.

4. Explore ~~ten~~ 3 parks or hiking trails in the state of Washington or Oregon! No new parks or hiking trails this week.

5. Incorporate 20 2 new recipes into our dinner plans with the focus on healthy eating. Been trying to eat less meat. The winning recipe this week was a Homemade Sushi. I’ll be sharing the recipe next week.

6. Read 35 13 new books this year. Back on the wait list for The Garden of the Evening Mists by Tan Twan Eng, since my Kindle loan expired and I know have to wait for it to be available again. So frustrating because I was enjoying the book! Finished the book The Library of Lost and Found by Phaedra Patrick. I just really enjoy this author and this book did not disappoint!

7. Complete ~~Four~~ 1 knitting or sewing projects this year. Just one more project to complete this year. However knitting has been put on hold until the weather cools off.

9. Explore ~~Six~~ 4 new museums in the area. We didn’t make it to The Oregon Garden yet, instead we went to the Evergreen Aviation and Space Museum with our son. One of the highlights of the museum is The Spruce Goose, the largest flying boat ever made. It made all the other planes in the building look tiny in comparison. Wonderful museum and so much to see we will definitely have to go back.

“Far away there in the sunshine are my highest aspirations. I may not reach them, but I can look up and see their beauty, believe in them, and try to follow where they lead.”
Louisa May Alcott, Author Little Women

This post may contain affiliate links. These affiliate links help support this site.

For more information, please see my disclosure policy. Thank you for supporting Nancy On The Home Front.

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

If you’ve been reading my blog lately you may think I am obsessed with sourdough. You may be right! Since I was given some starter by my daughter I have been finding all sots of ways to use up the starter; everything from Crumpets to Cinnamon Raisin Bread. Another wonderful recipe is Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls.

Several years ago my husband and I took a class at the King Arthur Baking School and learned how to make cinnamon rolls. We made the traditional type of cinnamon rolls and we made a quicker biscuit cinnamon roll. I have tried both methods using sourdough starter.

Nothing beats the traditional method with a much longer rising time. The dough is so light and fluffy and absolutely delicious. However, if you have company and don’t want to spend a lot of time in the kitchen try this Sourdough Biscuit Cinnamon Roll recipe. You can enjoy the quick biscuit dough with the benefits of long fermentation time.

The secret to this recipe is that the ingredients are mixed up at least seven hours before baking. In other words before you go to bed, mix up the ingredients and cover and place in a warm spot in your kitchen for 7-12 hours. In the morning you preheat your oven, form your cinnamon rolls and put them in the oven. In 20-30 minutes you will be enjoying fresh baked sourdough cinnamon rolls with your coffee.

Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients

½ cup butter, cut into small chunks
2 ½ cups flour
½ cup sourdough starter
1 Tbsp. maple syrup
1 cup milk (you may also try yogurt, buttermilk or milk kefir)
¾ tsp. Salt
1 tp. Baking powder
½ tsp. Baking soda

Filling Ingredients

½ cup brown sugar
1 ½ tsp. Cinnamon
6 Tbsp. butter, melted

Directions

At least seven hours before baking, prepare the dough for a long fermentation. Start by cutting the butter into the flour until it is in small pieces. Stir in the starter, maple syrup, and milk until a soft dough just comes together. Cover and place in a warm spot in your kitchen for 7-12 hours.

Preheat your oven to 350. When you are ready to bake your cinnamon rolls, combine the salt, baking powder and baking soda in a very small bowl until evenly mixed. Sprinkle this over your fermented dough and knead until it comes together in a cohesive, soft dough.

In another small bowl combine the filling ingredients until they form a paste.

Roll the dough into a ¼ to ½ inch thick rectangle. Spread filling evening over the dough.

Roll the dough tightly and cut into ½ inch pieces. You should have 8-10 rolls

Place the rolls in a 12 inch cast iron skillet or cake pan and bake in a preheated oven for 20-30 minutes until golden brown on the top and bottom.

Best enjoyed fresh out of the oven.