Hot Apple Pie? Yes Please!

All this talk about Thanksgiving has got me Jones-in' for a slice of hot apple pie.  With a little creativity, this clenched tooth girl can do anything!

Hot Applesauce Pie :

1 cup applesauce
2 Tbsp Almond Butter
Micro-wave these two ingredients for 10 seconds and repeat one or two times until the applesauce is warm.  Mine took three ten second intervals.  Stir to incorporate the AB and sauce.
Sprinkle with  cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger.  Amazingly good and simple.

You may wonder why I share all these pureed recipes with you- the ones who can chew.  When this first happened a dear friend sent me five different personal blogs that helped me out a lot as I figured out this whole wired-shut thing.  Here's hoping this post and my other puree recipes find their way into some poor soul's inbox.  Its amazing what good a little unique snack can do for your day when you are in the beginning of the fourth week in chains and have exhausted all your go-to snacks.
Also, the ones I post I feel like I will probably still eat when I am no longer bound because they are so good.  So don't be afraid to try them!
You are welcome!!

In other news, my appointment was today and honestly it made me a little frustrated.  After a wait while I entertained George, the doc bounced in and said, "Oh - you...So when are we doing this?" My only guess is that he meant, when are we taking the wires off.  Once I realized this I said, "Well, I thought next Monday".  So he calls the nurse in and says "schedule her for hardware removal".  On the way out the door he must have sensed my frustration because he put on a glove and felt the outside of my jaw.  "How does that feel?  Good, you are going to be fine.  Bone's healing great".  This all took about 90 seconds.  I didn't even get a chance to tell him I had been in a lot of pain the past week.  Then the nurse told me she would call me and tell me when the surgery to remove hardware would be.  She has to check insurance.  Two minutes total, if that.  I got myself and my kiddo dressed and prepared for two minutes of nothing.  We could have totally done this over the phone.  (The one redeeming factor is that the office is located very near one of my favorite coffee shops so I got a mocha to go)  So- I get it , I understand, medicine is not what it should be, but I am a little frustrated because I want to know exactly when these things will be removed.  Don't we always want to know exactly when and where? Lord, help me be a patient patient.  Help me trust that you have this too in your sovereign hands.  Help me not to take this out on docs and nurses, it is not their fault this happened to me.  Give me mercy and give me grace.  And give me more ideas about pureed food so I can distract myself until this nurse calls me back. :)
Friends, pray for me as I try my hardest to be patient, understanding, and flexible.  And pray that these wires will be removed sooner rather than later!

'Tis the Season for Soup

I thought of another thing I am thankful for....I am thankful that this accident happened during "soup season" because that is all I can eat.  I cannot imagine how I would feel about the consumption of hot tomato soup in the middle of the summer but it sure does hit the spot on these cool fall nights.  I mentioned my mom made me four types of soup.  I gave her my favorite recipe cards and she made them happen with additions and substitutions of her own.  She made my favorite-favorite Spinach Soup.  She made Brocolli-Cheddar soup (which, honestly I rarely indulge in because its not the healthiest for you).  She made Potato-Leek Soup and Curried Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup.  The only recipe I can give you is the one for Spinach Soup. For the others, she did her "thing" and mixed and matched several recipe cards with her own knowledge of how to put something absolutely scrumptious together.  And they were all absolutely scrumptious.

Becca's Favorite Favorite Spinach Soup
EVOO
2 garlic cloves
1/2 medium onion chopped
1 stalk celery
1 medium potato peeled and cubed
2 cups chicken or veggie broth
2 cups milk
1 - 6oz bag of fresh spinach

Heat EVOO in large saucepan.  Sauté garlic, onion, celery and potato for 5 minutes.
Add chicken broth and milk. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in half the spinach, cover and simmer for 10 more minutes.  Cool slightly, then transfer soup to blender WORKING IN BATCHES. (DO NOT- under any circumstances- think you can put all this soup in one blender. Just trust me on this one unless you want to change the paint color in your kitchen, ceilings etc. to seaweed green).  Or if you are a lucky duck and have a hand immersion blender, use that.  Add remaining spinach and blend until smooth. I always add red pepper flakes at the end - just a little, you can ALWAYS add more but you can never take spice out.  SO SO GOOD!


Today I tried my hand at a soup recipe I've had my eye on since before my jaw was broken and it does not disappoint!  In fact at this moment I have a mug of it's excellency on my nightside table.  If I did not need it pureed, I would have left it chunky but it is packed with flavor so I do not miss the texture quite as much.   The recipe below happens to be from Slimming Eats.  I added some "non-slimming" ingredients to get more fat and calories in.  Either way, its delicious.

Spicy Tomato and Lentil Soup

Author: Slimming Eats

Serves 4

Ingredients

• ¾ cup (175ml) of uncooked red lentils, rinsed
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic crushed
• 1 stick of celery, finely chopped
• 1 leek, finely chopped
• 300g of sweet potato, chopped (like 2 or 3)
• some freshly ginger grated
• 1 tsp of ground cumin
• 1 splash of tabasco sauce
• 2 teaspoons of paprika
• ½ teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 500g of ripe tomatoes, skinned and chopped finely (or use a tinned chopped) ( I used one HUGE can of whole Romas since I knew I would puree)
• 2 litres of vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp of tomato puree ( I did not use because I put whole can of tomatoes and included juice)
• salt and black pepper to season
• low calorie spray
• fat free natural yoghurt and fresh parsley to serve

Instructions

1. Spray a large saucepan over a medium high heat with low calorie spray. Add the onion, leek, celery and fry until softened.
2. Add the lentils, sweet potato, garlic, ginger, cumin, paprika, cayenne and tomato paste and stir to evenly mix.
3. Add the stock, tomatoes and tabasco sauce. Bring to the boil, then lower the heat and simmer for about 40mins until lentils are soft. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
4. If you prefer a smoother soup, then you can blend it to your liking. I prefer to leave this soup as it is. (I ended up adding water and soy milk to make it thin enough for me to drink)
5. Serve topped with a spoonful of fat free natural yoghurt and some chopped fresh parsley.

I added 5 oz chèvre, soy milk, and extra sweet potatoes.  I deleted some of the spice because whereas I usually enjoy spicy foods, it burns too much with the way the wires have treated my gums, lips and teeth.  I hope you will try this soup. Its amazing.  I used a hand immersion blender that a friend let me borrow (Thanks LC!!). I added the goat cheese and extra water at the end to make it thin enough to drink and it worked great!


Today was my first Post-Op appointment and my first day home alone with George since all this happened.  I asked a friend to watch George while I went to the appointment and she was happy to do it since our kiddos are great friends.  You might remember her from a previous post- her dad is the one with the motorcycle!  The appointment went well and the doctor said most likely these wires will come off November 25th.  Yes, that is three days before Thanksgiving so hopefully I will at least be able to eat some mashed potatoes.  Not sure if I will be able to open wide enough for a Turkey leg by then- we'll see.  He said it will be an outpatient surgery so I will undergo anesthesia and need a ride to and from the office.  So unless any of you want to come take me to the doctor that day George will have to take off another day of work.  I sure hope they don't fire him!! Only joking, I am sure they will understand and we will be able to work it out.  The appointment was quick, easy to find and uneventful- all that I hoped it would be.  George had a wonderful time with his friend and we came home. He did whine and cry for some reason today until I put him in front of the iPad.  I believe I will count on that tool for a successful week alone with him under these circumstances.  Thank goodness for technology.
Now he is asleep and I may not wake him up until George gets home.  I am sure I will get the energy I need because of this promise:

"I will refresh the weary and satisfy the faint." (Jer.31:25)

Patty Cake Patty Cake, Baker's (HU) MAN.

I want to steal an illustration from Sunday's sermon by Lincoln Skinner of Oneonta Congregational Church.  I want to steal it bake (not a typo) I guess I should say because I have had this thought before but he brought it bake (not a typo) to my mind.  I would also like to bake it a little longer and at a little higher temperature, to extend the analogy a little farther than he did.  Ok, enough with the puns...

We love to bake with our kiddos right? Or do we? If you know me, you know that I love to bake. Not only do I love it, it is often an escape for me. When I am sad, I bake.  When I want to celebrate, I bake.  When I have company, its not a party unless I bake.  I usually think I like to bake with my son George until my clean kitchen is a mess and he is uninterested about 1/3 of the way through as he runs through the house half clothed (because that is apparently his favorite outfit - as any visitors to my home would be happy to tell you) and I am left with a recipe half done and flour everywhere and a hot oven. I then have to choose to let him run amuck half naked and finish the recipe or throw in the towel and surrender the unbaked ingredients to the trash can.  I usually let him run around and I finish the recipe which makes my house even more of a mess and includes a lot of risks from clogged toilets and missing toothbrushes to possible broken bones from attempts to fly like a dragon off the couch.

But when he does make it through the whole recipe it makes that batch of cookies so much sweeter.  I love the look of accomplishment on his face, I love the experience as we create something  together.   I love it so much that I continue to invite him to bake with me, whenever I can, even though there is a risk that the whole idea will flop.

Lincoln likened this God's relationship with us.  God likes to bake with us.  He likes to include us in his "kingdom coming".  Does he need us in the process? Absolutely not.  He does not need us. In fact, if he left us out of it, there would be a lot less mess, less broken-ness, less risk, less missing pieces, less dumb mistakes, less clogged toilets (ok, maybe not that). But he wants us to be a part of the process, to experience the blessing of a finished product, to have a sense of accomplishment (without pride, mind you).  Thats why he lets us help.  He's just like me when George looks at me and says,"Mommy, can I 'make' with you?" I just melt like Baker's chocolate and of course I get out his plastic measuring cup and the wooden spoon.  And thats what God does too. If we are interested in the process, he immediately gets out all the tools and hands them to us, each at the perfect time.  He measures out the perfect amount and helps us as we pour each ingredient into the bowl.  He guides our inexperienced hand as we awkwardly try to stir the ingredients.  He scoops up the part that we catapulted across the room and puts it back in the bowl so the recipe will not be too dry or flat.  He gently scolds us when we take too many finger-fuls of batter for ourselves.  And then, when we run off and loose interest because something more fun or interesting catches our attention, he takes care of whatever we failed to do to make the cookies turn out perfect.  If for some reason we actually finish the recipe, lets be careful to let God put the tray in the oven.  None of us kids have any business near the hot oven.  Do not get burned, let God do God's part.

I told you he likes to be half dressed- this is not staged

Mom, Gra'ma and Bertie's Oatmeal Cookie Recipe

mmmmmm cookies!

So, lesson: We are invited into the process God's "kingdom coming" but not because God needs us.  We are invited because God wants us there, mess and all.  And we can not fear that we will be unsuccessful, or that we will make a mess of the situation.  God works through all that.  The main thing is that we are in the kitchen, and that we follow His lead.  The more we bake with Him, the batter we'll be at it.  If you've made it this far, thanks for sticking with me through all the baker's puns. I think I 'll go make a batch right now...where's my little helper?!