Gluten Free/Paleo Peanut Butter Cookies

In honor of the Crossfit games going on right now I have decided to get in the spirit and make some super delish Gluten free/Paleo Peanut Butter Cookies. Well, not that the world class/freak of nature athletes that are competing in the games would ever eat anything other than a slab of meat and some broccoli but the rest of you who are health concious and like to indulge in a healthier version of some sweet goodness will really enjoy these. They taste so similar to the real peanut butter cookies that are full of flour, oil, and huge amounts of empty calories that in a blind taste test it may be pretty darn hard to tell the difference.  I may even bet that the competetors would not be able to turn down one of these tasty treats after they finish their half marathon row. Seriously...a half marathon row and that is just one small part of it? I told ya...freaks of nature (or a very large supply of human growth hormones.)  Just make sure you are dunking them in almond milk rather than cows milk to keep it Paleo. Almond Breeze Unsweetned Vanilla Almond Milk is a personal favorite of mine. 

Anyhoot, Crossfitter or not, you will not feel so guilty scarfing down one or five of these for dessert so next time you are feeling the need for a little sweet in your life, whip these babies up and enjoy!

Peanut Butter/Honey Cookies

Ingredients:
1 cup natural peanut butter
2 tablespoons coconut oil
2/3 cup honey
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 cup coconut flour
pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare cookie sheets with parchment paper.  2. Combine coconut oil, peanut butter, and honey in a microwave safe bowl and heat for about 30 seconds. Stir to combine. If you need to heat a little more, do so until it combines well when stirring. (Don't bring out the KitchenAid for any of this. Just a bowl and spoon will do the trick) 3. Mix the peanut butter mixture until creamy and smooth. Add the eggs one at a time and mix well. Add the vanilla and continue to mix.
4. Combine coconut flour, baking soda, and salt in a separate bowl and set aside. 5.Add in the flour to peanut butter mixture until all ingredients are combined.  
6. Scoop out a tablespoon of the batter and roll into small balls. Place on cookie sheet 2" apart and press gently with a fork. 
6. Bake for about 10 minutes or until edges start to brown. Cool on a wire rack.

My Weekend On The Farm

Going into the weekend I was kind of dreading it. Hans had to work a 72 hour shift which meant I was going to be home alone and bored out of my mind if I didn't find something to keep myself occupied. I don't realize how secluded we are until I have spent a couple days by myself out here and have had nobody to talk to other than the dogs. Can you say major cabin fever?!?  Not that there is ever a lack of things to do out on the farm but you can only do so many projects or cleaning before you get totally burnt out. So...I spent the first day doing all of that boring stuff. Pruning the roses, pulling weeds, cleaning the house, hanging the newly painted door and closet doors in Olive's room (which I unfortunately found out still need a little sanding to close smoothly now that they have a couple coats of paint on them), getting caught up on some tv shows, etc....

On day two, I had a little date day with Pop all set up. He was also home alone because Terry was teaching a Spiritual Leadership seminar in California and since most of her family is down there she extended her trip so she could see all of them.  Since the second crop of peaches were getting ready to be harvested we were going to grab a couple boxes and can them for this winter. Like I mentioned in my last post, anything we can pick we get for free so might as well stock up our freezers and pantries with as much as possible. I must say not only is it nice to be able to save a pretty big chunk of change on produce, it feels even better to know exactly what is going into our food. I never have to read a label to see how much sugar or sodium was dumped in the can or jar and you can really tell the difference in the flavor.  Canning is pretty darn time consuming but it's incredibly easy and if you have the time and the space to do it, why not? Grab a loved one or a friend and make an afternoon out of it. You would be surprised at how much fun you can have and the feeling of accomplishment at the end is pretty cool.  

You can find recipes for canning peaches all over the internet, especially Pinterest (what on earth did we do before Pintrest came along?) but pretty much every recipe is the same so I think you are pretty safe with anyone you choose. Here is a link to one that came up on google and it looks pretty explanatory.  
 http://www.pickyourown.org/peachescanning.htm 

We used 3 boxes of peaches which ended up giving us 25 jars. Well more like 27 because I kept sneaking bites while peeling and we had one jar break on us in the water bath. What a sticky mess that was!

Don't they look AMAZING? 

It's nice knowing that these are the only two things in the jars other than the peaches themselves. We made a very light sugar water to help them stay sweet and a sprinkle of this powder keeps the fruit from turning brown over time. You could use lemon juice as well but this is just as easy.

There is no keeping yourself clean during this project so make sure you wear scrubby clothes. You just have to dig in with two hands and go for it. You may end up a sticky mess but you will smell really, really good!

Once you get the jars in the water, you just hang out and wait. We just hung out in the shop drinking (him beer and me water), eating snacks, and watching a repeat of the Espy awards. If you haven't heard the story of the Boston man that runs marathons while pushing his disabled son, you need to check it out. The tears flow every time!  Check out the story here   http://www.teamhoyt.com/

Finished product....we nailed it! Can you say PROFESSIONAL!

Now by the third day of Hans being at work, I am really starting to miss him so I was pretty thrilled when he asked if I wanted to head into the station for a family dinner with him and the guys on his shift. For some reason they do not do a whole lot of these in their department. I think it is due to the fact that their department seems to be either really young guys who do not have families yet and the older guys who have been there forever and probably really look forward to the time by themselves. The crew that Hans was working with today though all are really close to each other and all family men so they like a little company from the wives and kids. 

The guys cooked up a big taco dinner that was delish and they cleaned up afterwards. I could get used to that! We even had brownies and ice cream for dessert. The more time I spend with these guys, the more I find out that they all have a huge sweet tooth and I don't think they go a single shift without consuming huge amounts of desserts...at every meal. Thank goodness they have a gym at the station and actually get paid to workout or else I think we would have some seriously overweight firefighters on our hands. I really enjoyed spending a couple hours chatting and laughing with everyone and really hope that we can all do it again soon.

This is station 1 of the RFD. Roseburg has 3 stations total but station 1 is by far the nicest. Actually, I think it could be one of the nicest buildings in all of Downtown Roseburg.

I have to brag a little bit...When Hans completed his year long probation and was officially hired on, him and the two guys he graduated with made this shield as a gift to the department. Hans painted the flag on the helmet and it looks so cool! I almost forget how talented of an artist he is until I see some of his work. 

Well, now it's late Sunday night and I enjoyed my weekend but I sure am glad to have Hans coming home tomorrow for a few days. One more shift this week and then he is off for a week. Woohoo!!!

Kale Chips

I know you have heard about them and for those of you who have not tried them, you have probably turned your noses up at these kind of ugly dried out looking green things. Chips? How can these possibly taste anything like chips? Trust me, I was skeptical at first but there was a whole crop of it ready at the farm and since I get as much as we can pick from anything there, I figured "awh heck, why not try it."  Other than throwing it in salads and in smoothies, I am not a huge expert on what to do with Kale but I knew that I had heard several people say they like Kale Chips so I tried it out. Hans and his dad had been slaving away all day taking the HUGE windows out of our porch and I knew that they needed a snack at some point and who better to experiment new recipes on than them. They will try anything and will always be 100% honest on what they think about it.  After quickly baking these up I brought them out a batch to try. Pop took one look at them and said "those look like buttcrack!" I convinced him to try it anyways and he was pleasantly surprised at how good they were. Actually I think his next sentence was "Terry (my mother in law) is going to love you for this. She is a chip eating SOB." I think that means they passed the test!  Hans liked them so much that since last weekend I have already whipped up two more batches and I am certain they will be come a new staple in our household.  Seriously, if you are a chip lover, try them out for yourself!!!!

Grabbed a full basket of Kale because you would be shocked at how few chips it ends up making once they have dehydrated. In case you are wondering, the long leaves hanging out of the basket are leeks. They are basically a really big green onion.

Start by washing and COMPLETELY drying the Kale. They won't get crispy if there is any water left on them. Once dry you need to separate the leaves from the stems.

Throw all your kale leaves in a big bowl and drizzle with some olive oil. Yes, I realize my olive oil is in mini sized jars but they were favors from my baby shower that my best friend threw me and she sent me home with some of the ones that were left over. She said I could give them to people who stopped by or brought Olive a gift but I had to use a few of them myself. It reminds me of all my friends up in Seattle so I think she will forgive me for keeping a few for personal use. 

Once coated with the oil just lay them out on a cookie sheet so they are not overlapping and season. You can season them in several different ways. We go simple with just a sprinkle of powdered garlic and some Johnny's. You could use anything from sea salt, pepper, powdered bbq flavoring, etc... Get creative!    

Finally just pop them in a preheated 300 degree F oven and bake for 20 minutes or until really crispy. Let cool for 5 minutes and...

ENJOY!

Ingredients

1 large head green kale
1 tablespoon olive oil
Coarse sea salt or flavoring of your choice

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees F
2. Wash and dry Kale leaves
3. Tear off stems
4. Put all leaves in a bowl and drizzle oil on them. Toss leaves with your hands in order to coat them
5. Season the leaves with desired seasoning.
6. Spread leaves over the baking sheet. Do in two or more batches so the leaves do not overlap and bake for 20 minutes
7. Remove chips and let cool for 5 minutes

Goals

Goal [gohl] 

noun 1. the result or achievement toward which effort is directed; aim; end

2.the terminal point in a race.

3.a pole, line, or other marker by which such a point is indicated.

4.an area, basket, cage, or other object or structure toward or into which players of various games attempt to throw, carry, kick, hit, or drive a ball, puck, etc., to score a point or points.

5.the act of throwing, carrying, kicking, driving, etc., a ball or puck into such an area or object.

We all have goals right?  No, I'm not talking about options 2-5 on the definition list either. A few of you may randomly have a soccer goal post set up in your back yard but that is not what I am focusing on today. I'm talking numero uno...The result or achievement towards which effort is directed; aim; end. Basically having a plan of something you want to accomplish and sticking with it until you get it done. If you are anything like me you have goals that you say you would like to accomplish and tuck them into the memory bank for safe keeping or maybe you go one step farther and actually write them down. We promise ourselves we are going to accomplish them and before we know it we have either replaced them with something else or completely forgotten them. Well guess what, this needs to come to an end ASAP!

We read over and over about the importance of setting goals for ourselves.Why is this important you might ask? I can think of three different reasons off the top of my head.

#1 Goals help us believe in ourselves. They are a way to build confidence in ourselves and fuel our ambitions.
#2 They energize us. The energy we get towards reaching our goals help us stay focused when the burdens and obstacles get in the way. Personally, I think this is the reason we tend to forget about them or once we reach those burdens we get burnt out and throw our hands up in the air and give up.
#3 They give us exactly what we want. The truth is most people who want EVERYTHING usually
await disappointment but those who seek out something specific have a greater reward.

I know I will be much happier, wiser, calm, etc.... if I make a conscious effort to start setting a goal and actually reach it. So today I decided I was going to start checking those things off my list. Not just my mental list but an actual physical list that is going to be placed somewhere I can see it daily until each and everyone of those suckers are accomplished.

I decided to go with daily, weekly, and monthly goals. Three in each category. An errand or chore that SHOULD not be put off, a errand or a chore that CAN NOT be put off any longer, and something that was going to better me mentally or spiritually. They range anywhere from simple errands like getting all my grocery shopping done for the day, to deciding on a pediatrician, to taking at least 20 minutes a day to myself to relax.   

I could bore you with sharing each and every goal I made for myself but instead I will finish the post with the one I am most looking forward to reaching. Under my monthly goal category I wrote down that I need to have at least one date night with the hubs. Not just eating dinner and falling asleep on the couch by 8pm while watching some boring movie on Netflicks but a real date with just him and I where we can really reflect over the years we have had just him and I. In as little as 3 weeks we may not have a date night for who knows how long and it will never again be just the two of us. I want us to always remember that it took just the two of us to create this beautiful life and family we have ahead of us.

Now do yourselves a favor and go write down some goals of your own and FOLLOW them to the end! I'd love to hear what some of your most important are and who knows, you may help inspire me in writing my next set of goals. 

While writing today I decided to indulge myself in a little homemade zucchini bread and some spiced chai. I know the bread is pretty much the same as munching down a slice of cake but it's OH SO GOOD! It's one of Hans' favorites so I'll bake him and the guys at his station a loaf or two every month or so. The recipe is so simple. If interested you can find it here...  http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moms-zucchini-bread/

# 1

Geesh, who knew there would be so much pressure on writing my first blog post? I was sitting there on the couch  (looking like a beached whale at almost 35 weeks pregnant)  and I was almost having anxiety on what my first blog post should be. Is it possible to have writers block ALREADY???  That is when I decided that there will be hundreds of posts after this and in reality I have little to no followers so in reality it will probably be the least read post I have. 

So on that note I am just going to ramble on about how this blog even came about. Anyone who knows me well knows that I have a really hard time sitting still and now that I am headed into the tail end of my third trimester I am having to FORCE myself to have a recharge day every now and again. Hans keeps reminding me that if I keep going this hard and over do it I am going to end up on bed rest and that could be a very horrible thing for not only me but everyone around me. Seriously...it won't be pretty!

Whenever I talk to any of my friends up North in the city I hear over and over again "you should start a blog!" It had never occurred to me until just recently when Hans suggested I needed to find a new hobby that would keep me entertained on the days that I needed to recharge. I don't really watch television, I have read stacks and stacks of books, and spending all day in the kitchen trying out new recipes is just asking to pack on a few more pregnancy pounds than the 25-35 that is suggested for a woman of my height and weight. So far I am at 24 so I need to hold steady from here on out! So now that our internet is fixed (it's a looooooong story but it hasn't worked correctly for months now) and I have to find something to keep my mind occupied, I decided this is as good a time as any to start.

Finally...a hobby I can have where I can take some weight off my ever so slowly swelling feet yet still feel like I am doing something somewhat productive!

                Laptop, sausage toes, and hanging out with lazy dogs have made this possible today.

Oh and better quality pictures from here on out, I promise!