November Card Swap

Jen's Sumi Salad

Mike and I recently discovered a tasty Japanese grill close by our house. I loved the sumi salad. It reminded me of a cabbage salad that my mom used to make except hers had ramen noodles in it. I decided to experiment with my own version. So here it is!

I'm not sure why the picture turned out tiny but it is definitely big on flavor. badabing! Okay, so here's what you want to do. First, start out by going on down to Trader Joe's and picking up a bag of shredded cabbage, a bag of chopped kale, and a bag of the broccoli slaw. You'll thank me later.

Ingredients for Jen's Freakin' Awesome Sumi Salad:

1 bag shredded cabbage (about 2-3 cups)
2 cups of chopped kale (rinse, remove big stems, and chop into smaller size)
1/2 bag of broccoli slaw (about 1 1/2 - 2 cups)
4 stalks of celery, chopped
2 cups of rinsed, chopped cilantro
5-7 green onions, chopped
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 orange bell pepper, chopped
1/3 cup sesame seeds, toasted
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Dressing:

2-3 T. sesame oil
3-4 T. rice vinegar
2 tsp agave, OR a couple packets of Stevia (that's what I used)
1 tsp kosher salt
Lots of fresh ground pepper

Toast the sesame seeds and almonds on the stove top in a dry nonstick pan or in the oven at 400 for a few minutes and then set aside to cool. Combine all your veggies in a big bowl. Whisk your dressing and add to veggies. Stir to coat evenly. It won't look like you have enough dressing but trust me, it will be fine. You can add choose to add the sesame seeds and almonds now or before serving. I just added mine. Chill salad for a few hours. Tastes great for days and is a tasty way to get in your veggies!!!

You can add or subtract any veggies you want. I tried chopped parsley in my first batch and wasn't too impressed but you know how healthy parsley is so maybe I'll just add less next time. I usually buy my peppers in the 3 pack from TJ's and you could opt to add the yellow pepper too.

Extraordinary Stake Relief Society Activity

Our Stake Relief Society performed a vignette entitled "Extraordinary Calling" for the 170th birthday of the Relief Society last month. A friend from my ward, wrote the vignette about the founding sisters and asked me to get involved after a cast member fell ill. I was a little nervous and apprehensive but after the first rehearsal, I knew this would be an amazing production to be a part of. So, I accepted the invitation to play Martha Knight. I even got to work with the wardrobe designer to figure out my costume. I ended up making a dickie with collar and sleeves to coordinate with the apron and skirt.

Janet Hogstrom, myself, Tina Jacobson

Ruth Taylor and myself

Here's most of the cast after the play. We had some really neat bonnets and costumes. My friend Jeanette, in the brown dress with white shawl, played Emma Smith. She did a great job.

The stage appeared as an old school house with old fashioned chairs and furniture. I was able to lend my old fashioned chair that went to my roll top desk that I used as a teenager.

One of the miracles that occured the day of the performance was Mike's unexpected early arrival home from a business trip. He had been scheduled to be in India until Friday and I had booked my babysitter weeks ahead of time. Well, my babysitter contacted me Thursday morning and had to cancel because she was running a fever and quite sick. I was scrambling all afternoon to figure out what I was going to do with the kids. And then Mike walked through the door at 2:00 in the afternoon! It was a huge relief!

Easter 2012

We enjoyed a beautiful Easter Sunday! You know what was so nice? Having church at 9 a.m.! That's right. We didn't bother with easter baskets and all the commercial distraction surrounding Easter. We came home from church and enjoyed lunch, then we talked about the gift of the resurrection. The easter bunny doesn't deliver the easter goods, mom and dad do!  After our talk, the kids went in their rooms one by one to find their baskets. They each got a book, movie/game, and a few knick-knacks. We did have an egg hunt but that was only after I searched for some coins from my wallet, and Mike's too and I even borrowed some coins from Connor. I know, sad, huh. I didn't buy a single bag of candy this year. I guess I've just seen too many food documentaries lately so I just didn't bring it in the house. I had a few left over hershey's kisses that a friend gave me for my birthday so we had maybe two dozen eggs. Mike hid them in the backyard. The kids enjoyed the hunt despite the prize inside the eggs. They still had fun and I feel good about how we celebrated Easter this year!

Jen's Flourless Nut Lover's Chocolate Chip Cookies

I did it! I made a great tasting chocolate chip cookie without any flour! I was surprised at how great these cookies turned out! I have always tried to incorporate whole grains in my cookies. I love to sneak all kinds of goodness in them. Today, I substituted the flour in one of my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe with some wholesome grains I had on hand. If you're looking to healthify any recipes, start by substituted the white flour with any of the following or combinations of: unbleached, unbrominated white flour (King Arthur's is a great choice), white whole wheat flour, whole wheat flour, oat flour, almond meal, ground flaxseed, quinoa flakes, etc... Substitute some of the sugar for organic sugars, or honey. Most cookies are far too sweet. You can usually cut back 1/4 of what the recipe calls for without noticing a difference.

Jen's Flourless Nut Lover's Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c. unsalted butter, soft
1/2 c. organic brown sugar
1/4 c. organic sugar
1/4 c. honey
3/4 tsp. vanilla
1 egg, organic cage free

1/2 tsp. aluminum free baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. old fashioned oats
1 c. slivered almonds
1/2 c. ground flaxseed
1 c. unsweetened coconut, finely grated
1/2 c. shredded coconut

Add-ins: Nuts of your choice! or dried fruits if you wish
1/2 c. unsalted roasted sunflower seeds
1/2 c. walnuts
1 c.70% cocoa chips, carob chips or chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

In a blender or food processor, blend the oats and slivered almonds until you get a flour like consistency. Set aside.

Next, cream butter, sugars, honey, egg, and vanilla.

On stir speed, add baking soda, salt, oat/almond flour, ground flaxseed, and coconut. Mix until well combined. Stop and scrape the sides as necessary.

Coarsely chop up the sunflower seeds and walnuts. My husband doesn't like nuts in baked goods. Shhhh...don't tell him about the ground up slivered almonds...he didn't notice! So I made half the batch with the extra nut add-ins.

Finally, stir in the add-ins of your choice.

I used the medium cookie scoop and flattened each ball a tad on a silpat or parchment paper lined cookie sheet.

Bake for 9-10 minutes.

What about the R.O.U.S.s?

Yes, they do exist! Rodents of Unusual Size, a.k.a.Capybara can be found at Sea World. We had the unique opportunity to have a close encounter with these interesting animals. We were looking for the armadillo at Animal Connections when a zookeeper approached us and asked if we'd like to help her feed one of the animals. Of course! We learned that Capybaras are a little skiddish around new people so we had to be quiet, calm, and not make any sudden movements. The kids fed the Capybaras, Rust and Buttercup, romaine lettuce.