Potatoes

Please, raise your hands anyone who DOESN'T love potatoes? I thought so too, not many.
Do you know how much I love potatoes?

This much...

From simple mushed or baked potatoes to elaborated stuffed potatoes, you name it.
Potatoes (and mushrooms) are vegetarian's meat. Sort off... :)


There are some discussions about how much if any potatoes one can consume to be healthy and loose weight. I believe in one thing: eating a good food, whole, fresh, organic, and non-GMO in moderation will do only good for me and my family.
And latest study by University of California proves it:


“The results of this study confirm what health professionals and nutrition experts have said for years; when it comes to weight loss, it is not about eliminating a certain food or food groups, rather, it is reducing calories that count,” said lead researcher Dr. Britt Burton-Freeman, PhD, MS. “There is no evidence that potatoes, when prepared in a healthful manner, contribute to weight gain.  In fact, we are seeing that they can be part of a weight loss program.”  


In other words, potatoes or no potatoes, do your math: 

• Want to loose weight, calories "In" have to be less than calories "Out". 
• Want to maintain weight, calories "In" have to be equal to calories "Out" (or a little less). 

Sorry, I got carried away.


Anyway, back to potatoes. Here is what's for dinner tonight, as easy as it could be:

• Ingredients - potatoes and seasoning.

 Preheat oven to 400F.

Wash and cut  lengthwise  5-6 medium size potatoes (I love Russet potatoes, as you can see).

Place all the wedges on the oiled baking sheet, skin down.

Season with salt, pepper, garlic granules and dill weed.  Drizzle a little oil on the top.

Bake 35 minutes until golden brown and taste it.


Enjoy with anything you like.

My choice for today was a cabbage salad.

How do you like your potatoes (if any)?

Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian

"Firework" and "Pizza"

My day went totally off the rails. 


Usually I have a "to do list" either in my head or on the paper.


1. Deal with all the little chores I was saving for "later" while my parents were here. Well, today was that "later".
2. Review the budget for January.
3. Rotate produce in refrigerator (I had a big shopping at Whole Foods in Dallas).
4. Clean the fireplace, get some wood. They cut the tree on the property and I was allowed to collect some wood before a truck comes to pick it up.
5. Look through seed's catalogs and start ordering for a new season.
6. Make a soup and pizza for dinner.
7. Have a great evening next to a fireplace with my husband and son.


And usually by the end of the day all or most of the planed activities are crossed.
It wasn't the case today. 


After I had my homemade yogurt with raspberries for breakfast, I got right to the "little" chores which took me a good half of the day. 
When I got home it was so cold,  all I wanted was a cup of hot tea and a warm blanket. But I decided it's better to move and warm up while doing some physical activities. I went outside for a firewood. A few trips to the tree, and I was warm and quite happy - free firewood! 
Then, I cleaned the fireplace and took a box with a wood ashes outside to sprinkle it on my front yard (good source of phosphorus and something else, I forgot). 
As I opened the front door, a cold wind blow in and lifted all the ashes up in the air and back into the room. I was left with an empty box and to the picture of ashes flying around the room like a confetti - did someone requested a "firework" ?! Check the list!
I couldn't stop laughing, for some unexplainable reason it was very funny. 
By this time my son called me to pick him up from school. When we came back, "confetti" were settled down and were possible to clean. 
My 2, 3, and 5 from the list would have to wait.


As "what's for dinner..."  well, I had to improvise, really.

One zucchini, few tablespoons of sauteed mushrooms, spinach, some cheese, tomato sauce, and ... ready for this? ... on some tortilla... 

Baked for 10 min in 425F oven. "Pizza" anyone?!

Dinner is served, my friends! I actually liked tortilla "pizza": thin crust, quick to make, throw on the top anything you want. Simple! 

I think it is going to be one of our favorites for a while...

Everyone loved the mushroom "pizza"

My personal favorite - spinach and  cheese "pizza"

I guess, I have a "to do list" for tomorrow - rolled over from today. :)


***


Did you have some fun today?




Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian

Road Trip: Dallas, TX

I wasn't allowed beyond this point...

Last few days were somewhat hectic.
My parents' approaching departure was the reason: last minute shopping for a gifts, packing, making all kinds of arrangements, etc... You know how it goes.
Yesterday, fighting a pouring rain and extremely slippery road, I drove them to Dallas/Fort Worth airport, and Lufthansa aircraft safely transported them to their destination. 
We live in an amazing world: yesterday we were together, today, while I was still in Dallas, they were on the other side of the world.
I miss them already... I wish they could stay a little or a lot longer...
But for now I need to overcome my "empty nest syndrome" and get back to business.

What do you think of that?!

My hotel dinner

When I got back to Fort Smith, I had some of mom's soup: it was soul warming...

Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian

Calendar

Yet another cake...

Today is a Christmas Day for Orthodox Christians, who follow an older Julian calendar instead of Gregorian calendar.
Because my family roots are so mixed, we always celebrate on both dates: December, 25th and January, 7th. And while December's Christmas is commercialised with almost mandatory gifts, January's Christmas is not about the presents at all.
It is time for family gathering, time for piece and unity.

My dad was very specific what dishes we needed to have on our table on Christmas Eve (yesterday): mostly vegetarian with one exception for fish. We had a cabbage rolls, a few salads, whole wheat berries with honey and walnuts (mmm, delicious!), roasted eggplants, pirogi with potatoes, beet salad, sauerkrout, fruit tray, and a cake.

We had more than twelve plates  on a table so my dad was completely satisfied.

Today we went to Bentonville, AR to a Crystal Bridges Museum and park, which was symbolically open on 11.11.11 and was designed to "spark the imagination".

My imagination was sparked right from the entrance:

Colonial, 19th Century, modern, and contemporary  art collections are on a permanent exhibit.



Rafaelle Peale, Corn and Cantaloupe. Ca. 1813





Edward Hoppers, Roofs of the Cobb Barn. 1931



Joe Jones, Midwest Harvest. 1940

Jim Dine, Walking to Boras. 2006

There are  about 4 miles of trails that will take you to a streams, ponds, wetlands, native plants, and sculpture  too - it is an art museum for once. They even plan to open Art Trail on January 10th.

We had our coffee at Eleven, Museum's restaurant. Coffee was good, desert ... heavenly delicious! I had danish fruit tart with blueberries and raspberries. Not too sweet or heavy, and just a perfect size portion.

Sorry, no photo. My phone stopped working when it sew my desert!

Do I recommend this place? Oh, yes. Totally. I am planning on going there again to hike the trails, to "spark imagination" with the museum's exhibits, and maybe I will take my yoga mat along - this place has a lot to offer...

Surprise: admission is free.

599 NE J Street, Bentonville, Arkansas.

They are closed on Tuesdays.

At the end, we all had an unforgettable time together as a family.

Until next time,

Cowboy Country Vegetarian

Cake "Napoleon"

There are different opinions why this cake is called "Napoleon", but there is only one opinion I've heard about it's taste - delicious.
Even I like it, and I am not a sweet eater at all (my kids have to remind me about deserts all the time as I forget to buy them candies or make them something sweet).
This cake is one of a very few sweets I dare to make.
In France and Italy this cake is called millefeuille - 1000 layers. Mine has only eight layers.

Here is how I make it.

Ingredients for the dough:

2 eggs
200 grams butter or Earth Balance
100 grams (1/2 cup) sour cream
3 cups flour
1/4 tsp salt

That is how much 200 grams of butter looks like

Ingredients for cream (filling):

5 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
2 eggs
2 Tbsp butter
1tsp vanilla extract
1-2 tsp lemon juice


Prepare the dough.
In the ball mix flour and warmed to the room temperature butter until it forms crumble like texture. Add eggs, sour cream, butter and salt and mix it. Divide the dough into 8 even pieces, form small balls, and refrigerate for 3 hours.

Preheat oven to 375F.
Roll each ball into a round disks about 1/4 inch thick, and it bake in the oven 5-8 minutes until brown.




That dark brown is for the crumbles



Baked disks can be prepared in advance up to a week . Keep it in a dry place.


Filling:

1. In a ball mix eggs and sugar, add 2 Tbsp flour with 1/2 cup of warm milk.

2. Heat 5 cups of milk just before it wants to boil, slowly add egg mixture into the milk, stirring constantly until it thickens.

3.Take off the heat.

4. Let it cool 25-30 minutes and add 2 Tbsp butter.

5. Mix well again. Let it cool to a room temperature.

6. Place a disk on a cake stand (or just parchment paper), cover with filling.

7. Take the next disk and cover from both sides with the filling and press on the top of the first disk. Repeat this step with with all 7 disks.

8. From the last disk make crumbles and use it to decorate cake. Mix crumbles with some walnuts (optional).

9. Decorate with some fruits, and voilà!

10. Important: Let cake rest for 24 hours for filling to penetrate into the layers.


***


Yes, I know it is labor intencive. But reward at the end is so good it's all worth it!


Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian

Sneak-peek at my next post

Dear friends,

I am pleased to show you my baking "master"-piece - the "Napoleon" cake.
I've been asked for the recipe many times, so I spent a few days with my mom  measuring and  baking, and I am proud to present it:

This recipe is from my mom's old recipe collection, which she generously shared with me.

We had fun making those cakes, while experimenting with the ingredients. All of the cake variations came out delicious. So my next post will be a basic recipe for  "Napoleon" cake (from my mom's collection).

Stay tuned! :)


Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian

New Year, New Me...

New resolutions, new plans, new dreams... 2012 is here!

On New Year's Eve we had a traditional celebrations with a music, and a good food, lots of good food. And traditionally, we were all dressed up for the occasion.
I felt great in size 8!  Even though I had to do an unexpected shopping on the New Year's Eve and spent some extra cash (which I was saving for a new camera), it was all worth it.
I put on my new outfit, a new make up, and an all-face smile. I still can't get over the fact that I am size 8... Last year I had to do some unexpected shopping before holidays too, but in a different department, size 1X...  Last year I didn't even have it on my New Year's resolution list to loose weight. 
Twelve months later, or 30 pounds later,  and here is a new me, size 8...

I liked this outfit but I got that cute ruffled skirt.

So, how do I start 2012?

Weight - 158.2 lb
Size - 8

***

My 2012 resolutions:

1. Want less!!! When I see something I want to add to my cart, leave it where it is, think overnight, ask myself a question: "Do I really need it?" Think again. (Groceries are not included).

2. Reduce. Reuse. Recycle.

3. Eat whole foods - vegetables, fruits, grains, legumes. Minimize processed food in my kitchen - if it must be processed, it has to be processed in my kitchen from whole ingredients (when possible).

***

My plans for 2012:

1. Keep my workout routine (about 2 hours a day five days a week).

2. Get that camera finally!!! (I am still taking pictures with my Samsung Droid Charge cellphone...)

3. Reduce spending to $500 per month (including food, gas, dining out, and clothes). This one is going to be challenging but we decided to try.

Fayetteville, AR is a bike friendly city, and it's only 60 miles away...

4. I've been thinking on switching to a bike for a while now, however Fort Smith is not a bike friendly (or a pedestrian friendly for this matter - there are only two-tree streets with sidewalks). I need to give it another thought and talk to my husband again (his concern, so is mine, is safety).

***

My dream:

I want a cat, something like this (everyone can have a dream, right?):

I think I've got everything.

Lets roll through the 2012  to our success!
Don't forget to have some fun along the way!


Until next time,
Cowboy Country Vegetarian


P.S. Forgot one, No Wining for a year! :)