bethsblog

Oatmeal Seed Bread

This is my current favorite bread. It has great flavor, body, and texture... superb toasted or sliced with your favorite sandwich makings.

Oatmeal Seed Bread – makes 2 large loaves

2 ⅔ cups warm water
¼ cup honey
4 tsp. active dry yeast
¼ cup oil
3 tsp. salt
4 tsp. flax seed or finely chopped walnuts
4 tsp. sesame seed or millet
4 tsp. poppy seed or cracked wheat
½ cup sunflower seeds
¼ cup yellow corn meal or stone ground rye flour
1 cup old-fashioned oats
4 ⅔ cups bread flour

Crab Cakes

The other day I got a hankering for crab cakes. I went to one of my favorite recipe sites, Baked Bree and found a recipe that sounded good. I tweaked it a little and here it is:

Crab Cakes  - adapted from Baked Bree
Makes about 10

3  6 oz. cans lump crab meat
1 cup finely crushed saltine crackers (about 20) divided
3 finely chopped green onions
½ cup finely diced red bell pepper
2 eggs
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dry mustard
2 tbsp. lemon juice
¼ tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup vegetable oil
½ cup butter

Vitamix Broccoli-Cheddar Cheese Soup

In less than an hour I had a batch of the most delicious Broccoli-Cheddar soup ever. I can't believe how smooth and creamy soups are, made in my Vitamix.

Broccoli-Cheddar Cheese Soup – VITAMIX
Makes about 6 cups

1 lb. broccoli trimmed and rough chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
water
1 ¼  tsp. salt, divided
¼ cup butter
¼ cup all-purpose flour
⅛ tsp. ground black pepper
1 ⅓ cups whole milk
8 oz. mild cheddar cheese cut in 1" cubes

Why I Don't Text

My sisters texts. My daughters text. Most of my friends text. But I don’t text.

I am a happy owner of a “dumb” phone. I paid $35 for it. It doesn’t take pictures. (I have a camera for that.) It doesn’t get internet. (I have a computer for that.) It’s just a phone.

Vitamix - Creamy Tomato Soup

You know how I love my kitchen toys... the latest acquisition, a Vitamix. This super-sonic blender makes silky-smooth smoothies in a snap. In fact that's the main reason I invested in a Vitamix. Since January, I've been drinking "green" smoothies daily (I call it my "elixir of life,") but it was a daily early morning battle with my old blender (it's a Cuisinart) to get the stuff to process. It would jam constantly, and there were always little random bits of kale or seeds or whatever in the smoothie... not too smooth.

I Am

Every so often something comes along that takes the wind right out of my sails and sits me down for a good long think. 

Such is my latest read, Awareness, the Perils and Opportunities of Reality, by Fr. Anthony De Mello. A Jesuit priest and psychotherapist who became widely known for his books on spirituality, he was an internationally acclaimed spiritual guide, writer, and public speaker. Until his sudden death in 1987 at the age of 56, De Mello was the director of the Sadhana Institute of Pastoral Counseling near Poona, India.

Here’s what he says in the opening chapter:

“Most people, even though they don’t know it, are asleep. They’re born asleep, they live asleep, they marry in their sleep, they breed children in their sleep, they die in their sleep without ever waking up. They never understand the loveliness and the beauty of this thing that we call human existence.

Intermittent Fasting and Thyroid

Yesterday it was time for my quarterly thyroid test (TSH) so off I ran to my friendly neighborhood blood-letter and had it done. Today my results came back and it turns out that I’m a little bit hyperthyroid.

For the past 20 years* I’ve taken my thyroid tablet on arising, about 7 a.m. Breakfast’s been between 8 and 9. The standard protocol: “Take Synthroid first thing in the morning on an empty stomach at least one hour before eating.” Dairy, high fiber foods, and certain supplements interfere somewhat with the absorption of thyroid medication, but that’s not a problem if you eat pretty much the same breakfast every morning, take the right daily dose of thyroid medication to maintain normal blood levels, and then don’t change anything.

My TSH levels have been normal for 3 years. So the first thing, I asked myself was, “What changed?

Scale-a-phobia: Part 2

After 3 years of not weighing myself, I finally broke down and stepped on the scale. In January. In response to getting suckered into trying out a new “diet.” Weighing myself once a week to track my progress, I learned a couple things. First: I have the most annoying scale in the world. Second: I no longer have to fear a silly little number.

The IF Life

For those of you who follow my blog, you know that back in January, on a day that I was particularly disgusted with the fit of my jeans, I jumped hard and fast onto the 8-Hour Diet, bandwagon after seeing a spot on NBC’s Today Show... the diet promised remarkable weight loss, up to 20 pounds in just 6 weeks, for those willing to limit eating to just 8-hours-a-day. No calorie counting. No special foods. Seemed like a no-brainer.

Split Pea Soup

Soup is really not the right term here... because when I make split pea soup, it's really more like stew, with tender chunks of carrot, potato, and ham... you can eat it with a fork. Seasoned with oregano, bay, onion, and garlic, it's one of my favorite winter suppers.

Split Pea Soup - Serves 6-8
Allow about 2 hours 

2 T. olive oil
½ cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
½ tsp. dried oregano
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. black pepper
2 tsp. salt
2 cups sliced carrots
1 lb. dried green split-peas, sorted, rinsed, and drained
8 cups water
2 cups diced red potatoes, unpeeled
boiling water as needed
8 oz. cubed ham (optional)